Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Final Stand
by Kristen Verne
Summary: Part of my KH3.5 Collection: Xehanort has risen up and now the heroes must stand together in order to defeat him. With his friends beside him, Sora leads the charge, to save Kingdom Hearts and all the worlds with it. (Reo of my story KH3: Final Stand) Rated T [Jiminy Update- Ch19]
1. Chapter 1: Where It All Began

**Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!**

 **Welcome to 3.5 and the new KH3 Re: Final Stand!**

 **All my old followers welcome back. And all the new ones, Hi!**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this story!**

 **(And don't forget the little footnotes at the bottom, and the idea for this came from my pal Nintendoman01)**

 **SPOILERS FOR ALL GAMES, INCLUDING 2.8! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

* * *

 **Kingdom Hearts 3 Re: Final Stand**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Where It All Begins**

* * *

"Watch your footing, Kairi. Lea, don't underestimate her."

Riku leaned against the wall as the two red-heads sparred. They'd both progressed greatly during the last nine months, despite there being some setbacks during the training (1).

"Is that all you got, Princess?"

"Shut up and I'll show you!" She leapt over his strike and brought her training sword down on Lea's head.

The pyro fell back, touching the spot where she hit him. "Ow, none of that."

"Sorry…" She giggled and held out a hand. Lea took it and stood.

Riku smiled. "I think that's enough training for one day."

The two red-heads nodded and put away the training materials. Lea noticed that his fellow trainee seemed quiet, as they worked. "Hey, Princess, you thinking about Sora?"

"Yeah… I know he's alright, but I miss him."

"We all do."

A poof filled the air. "Hi, Merlin."

"Hello there," he looked at the only Keyblade Master in the room, "Riku, Yen Sid wishes to speak with you."

"Thank you, Merlin." The wizard disappeared in smoke. "Well, you two play nice, and no blood on the floor."

Lea grinned. "Aw, you don't trust us?"

"You… no. Kairi, yes." With that, he left.

Lea sat down, on the ground, watching Kairi finger her necklace. "I know you miss him, but he'll be back soon."

"It's not good for Sora to be alone." She sighed. "I'm scared for him."

The pyro stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He can take care of himself."

"Ok, Lea…"

* * *

Riku walked and stood before Master Yen Sid's desk. "Yes, sir, what is it?"

Before the wizard answered, the door behind Riku opened. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy came inside, Jiminy riding on the shoulder of the mouse king. "Hey there, Riku!"

The young master smiled. He and Mickey were close, and though he'd never really gotten to know Donald and Goofy, they were very nice. The old wizard nodded at them. "There you are. Donald, Goofy, I need to speak with Mickey and Riku alone. The others are in the training room."

The duck and dog left. Riku looked from the mouse to the old man. "What's going on?"

"It is time to gather our forces in order to combat Xehanort."

"Who exactly are we getting? The three friends Mickey mentioned before?"

Yen Sid nodded. "Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. Each met a dark fate due to Xehanort and all have been missing for nearly thirteen years. We only know what became of one of them. Mickey found Master Aqua in the Realm of Darkness. He can tell you the rest (2). "

* * *

Donald and Goofy walked into the training room, only to find Lea sitting on a bench, reading a book. Kairi lay on some cushions, asleep. She'd conked out directly after training.

"Hey, you two." The pyro gave a little wave. "I'd keep it down. The princess is trying to sleep."

Donald nodded. "Master Yen Sid told us to come to see how you are doing."

"We're doing fine. It's been kind of cool being a Keyblade wielder; I can see the appeal of the weapon."

Goofy was about to respond when Kairi let out a pained moan. The three looked over to see the girl rolling around on the cushions. Tears began pouring down her face.

"Kairi!?" Lea went to her side, shaking her…

* * *

 _Kairi's dreams began strangely. She saw_ _flashes of color and little orbs of light rained from the sky._

 _"Kairi…" She turned and saw a man; however, she could not see him clearly, only that he wore mostly white, and had blonde hair._

 _The world swirled around her and she saw two people, even more obscured than the first image. Two voices, one male, the other female, spoke. "Kairi…"_

 _When the image changed for a third time, three kids stood before her. As they spoke, she could tell that they were all boys. "Kairi…"_

 _The first three people appeared again, all around her. All saying the same thing…_

 _"Kairi."_

 _"Kairi."_

 _"Kairi…"_

* * *

"Kairi, Kairi! Wake up." Lea shook her until the girl sat straight up.

She looked around. "Wh-what was that?"

"You were dreamin' Kairi." Goofy gave her a small frown. "You didn't seem very happy."

"Yeah, you were crying. What were you dreaming about?"

She shook her head. "I… don't remember." She wiped her eyes. "Where's Riku?"

"In a meeting with Master Yen Sid." Donald looked at the girl's downcast eyes. "You sure you're alright?"

She gave a weak smile. "Of course." She stood up. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

She gave Lea a smirk. "Worried about me hot-head? Didn't think you cared…" He gave a light chuckle, as did Kairi. "I'm just going out to get a breath of fresh air. If Master Yen Sid needs me, I'll be outside." She gave a light wave, as she left.

* * *

Riku gaped at Mickey's story. This woman, Master Aqua, was the same woman who spoke to him and Sora as children. How else could she have met them, since that was the only strange woman he ever remembered seeing. And then she sacrificed herself to save him, of all people. And this had been during a time when he'd been lost in the dark.

Now to find out Mickey hadn't said a word; the king looked ashamed especially since he'd told no one. Riku could tell since Jiminy spent the entire conversation writing down everything he heard. He knew the reason why, but as he and the mouse left Yen Sid's study, to find Lea and the others, Riku had to speak up. "What else do you know, that you haven't told us?"

"Well, I met Kairi a long time ago, when she was a kid."

"Wow…" The young master looked out a window, where he could see Kairi, standing out, under the stars. "And she has no memory of her past, so she would never remember."

"That's why I didn't say anything. So, please, don't say anything either."

"Your Majesty," Jiminy piped up, "I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Keeping a secret like that, it could be hurtful if it came out at the wrong time, and if you didn't tell her yourself."

The mouse nodded slowly. "I know, but I don't know how to tell her. What can I do?"

"I still think you should tell her." Jiminy sighed.

"I'll think about it."

Riku sighed; Kairi would be ok. She already held pain from her recent solo adventure (3); she didn't need any more by bringing up a past she couldn't even remember.

* * *

Standing under the stars, the girl wrapped her arms around her. True, she did not remember her dream, but sorrow filled her very being. It made her not want to remember the dream at all.

"Gosh, I need to relax…" she placed a hand on her heart, waiting to feel the same warmth that Sora's heart always gave her (4). But, this time, she didn't feel the warmth; she felt nothing. "Sora? Where are you?"

She looked up, only to see a star blink into existence. The light came down in a bouncing pattern and hit the ground in front of her. She leapt back, covering her eyes.

"What the heck!?" Kairi blinked. The light before her faded away. "SORA!"

Her dear friend lay on the ground, a star shard in his hand. "K-Kairi…?"

"Sora! Oh gosh, Sora!" She dropped to her knees, rolling him onto his back. What she saw, turned her blood cold. A dark red stain, soaked his white shirt (5). "Sora, no! Don't you dare! You can't! Don't leave me…"

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter.**

 **Chapters will usually be longer than this, but this is an intro chapter, so it's ok to be short.**

 **Quite a change from the original story, isn't it?**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne, or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Reference to the "Training Series".

(2) Insert BBS .2 here.

(3) Reference to the final part in the "Training Series".

(4) By this time, Kairi and Sora have already shared a Paopu fruit. I always assumed it gave their hearts a special link so that they can feel what the other one feels.

(5) Sora got a temporary outfit in the "Training Series", from his mother. 

* * *

**Introduction**

Hi everyone, I want to welcome you to this story. Now, if you've never read my stories before, you probably won't know what this is.

At the end of every chapter, I write a little segment that is only here for one purpose, to encourage all of you.

I am a Christian and these little "devos" will be written with Bible verses and from a Christian standpoint. However, I am here to show love to everyone who reads my stories, no matter their age, religion, race, etc..

If you do not care to read these devos, then you have every right to skip right over them, but they are here if you want to be encouraged and shown the love of God.  
And if you have any complaints or questions, you can PM me. If you leave a rude review, just know that it will be removed.

I love each and every one of you and I wish you the best!

God bless all of you!


	2. Chapter 2: Frying Pan to the Fire

**Hello! I hope you guys are doing good!**

 **Thank you to everyone who came and followed/favorited this story. I am happy to see you guys here, and I will ask you to please review. I am always excited to hear feedback: what you like, what you don't like if I made a grammar mistake.**

 **Please give feedback.**

 **Let's get to it!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Jeremiah © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Frying Pan to the Fire**

* * *

" _Sora… Sora… WAKE UP SORA!_ "

Sora sat straight up. He yawned and stretched. "Was that really necessary?"

The voice in his head chuckled. " _Sorry, but it's nearly ten in the morning._ "

"Thanks…" The Keybearer stood up and walked over to a window. He looked out over the trees before him. He'd spent the last two days and nights here, in the old mansion outside of the walls of Twilight Town.

After nearly nine months of traveling among the worlds, he was happy to be in this place of familiarity. He'd had some company with the voice in his head. And after sharing the Paopu fruit with Kairi, he'd had a connection with her heart.

He sat down on the window seat. "So, isn't The Struggle today?"

 _"Yep._ "

"Think Roxas would be happy if I entered?"

The voice spoke up instantly. " _Of course! Roxas is just happy to be back on this world._ "

"Great." He turned around and picked up a journal. He'd decided to chronicle his journey and everything that happened since Jiminy wasn't with him. He'd let the cricket copy his notes when he saw him again. jumped up and ran downstairs and out of the mansion. In town, he went to the clearing where The Struggle was to be held.

"Hey Sora!" He looked over and saw Hayner waving to him. The boy came running over. "The rest of us are over here." He dragged Sora over to where the others waited. Pence and Olette grinned as he came over.

"Hey, Sora!"

"How are you doing Sora?"

The Keybearer grinned. "I'm doing great! I thought I'd drop in and join in the competition today."

"That's great." Olette nodded.

A soft sound came from behind Sora, and before he could move, someone turned him around and pushed something sharp into his face. "What the…!?"

"Are you trying to hit on my girl?"

"Jeremiah put the crossbow down." Hayner shook his head. "This is Sora. We told you about him."

The sharp object removed itself from his back; Sora turned around and saw a boy about his own age, with dirty blonde hair. The boy gave a wide grin as he tucked a small crossbow into the light-brown trench coat he wore. "Sorry man, I just thought you were messing with Olette." He held out a hand. "Name's Jeremiah Reach. No hard feelings, right?(1)"

"No hard feelings." Sora grinned.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to participate in the tournament." The Keybearer smiled. "I thought it would d be fun."

Hayner jumped up. "Can't wait to fight you in the ring then."

"Same."

* * *

"And the winner is… Sora!"

Hayner slumped against the ground. "Aw, I lost…!"

Sora reached down to help his friend up, but as he did so, his heart stung a bit. It must have been a memory from Roxas. "That was a good fight, Hayner."

"Yeah, it was," he scratched the back of his head. "But, I should've known that I couldn't win against you. You know, with you being a hero."

"You at least tried and you did great."

"Thanks." Hayner went over to sit beside Olette and Pence to watch the rest of the tournament. Jeremiah sat behind them, perched on a table-top.

One more match and Sora would be fighting for first place. And as the other match ended and Seifer defeated his opponent. He could almost feel how excited Roxas was for a rematch. Sora laid his hand on his heart. "Don't worry, Roxas. I'll kick his butt."

" _Roxas says 'good'. Now get in there, Sora!_ "

The Keybearer held back his laughter as he leapt into the ring. Seifer remained where he was, holding the struggle bat. "Ready to lose?"

"You won't beat me!" The two prepared to fight.

Suddenly, the ground and air shook as an explosion erupted from the plaza. "What the?" Sora leapt out the ring and took off down the street. Jeremiah came up after him. As the came into the plaza, Sora saw three people fighting a familiar man.

"Xehanort…" The younger version of the madman, stood in the center of the opening, glaring at the other three.

"So, creep, wanna tell us why you're attacking people?" A teenage boy with blonde hair and a monkey tail hung from a lamppost. A girl with short brown hair stood nearby him, holding a staff; beside her stood Vivi.

Xehanort gave them a disinterested glance. "I care not for you."

"Zidane," Jeremiah called out, "who's this loser?"

"Don't know but he let these weird black monsters out and they started attacking."

Jeremiah drew the attention of Young Xehanort. He looked over and grinned when he saw Sora. "There you are. I have been searching for you." He grinned. "Now, come along Sora, Master Xehanort awaits you."

"Yeah, and I'm not going with you!"

The young man narrowed his eyes. "I did not think I was giving you a choice. But if you refuse to come willingly, I will take you by force. And my orders are to bring you in alive; they did not say I couldn't injure you."

"Bring it!"

Young Xehanort smirked and summoned his Keyblade. "Fine. But, you might want to think fast." He pointed the weapon to his left. Sora saw a child standing in that direction, who must have come over to investigate the noise.

"NO DON'T!"

He spoke too late. Xehanort fired a magical blast at the child. Sora quickly used an Aero spell and propelled himself between the blast and the child. The attack hit him in the middle of the chest; the Keybearer crumpled to his knees.

"SORA!"

Xehanort warped across the plaza and grabbed Sora by the hair. A dark red spot had already begun to form across the boy's white shirt. "Now, come along."

A twang broke through the air as the bolt of a crossbow pierced the air and stuck itself into Young Xehanort's hand. He pulled that hand back, gasping in pain as he ripped it from his palm. "Why you insolent little filth!"

"Sorry, but that guy's a hero and he happens to be a friend of my girlfriend's." Jeremiah twirled his crossbow and loaded another bolt.

The boy with the monkey tail, Zidane, tackled Young Xehanort. "Garnet! Vivi! Get him!"

"Got it!" Vivi cast a Firza spell knocking Xehanort back.

Garnet held up her staff. "Shiva!" Out of light came a blue-skinned woman with blue hair, who froze the evil man in a block of ice and then shattered it around him.

As all this was happening, Hayner ran over to Sora. "Hey, are you ok?"

"Not really…" the Keybearer coughed, and a trickle of blood bubbled from his lips. "Oh gosh… it hurts…"

"Sora, he'll grab you if you stay here. Get out of here!"

Sora looked up at his friend. "But…"

"He wants you. He'll leave after you're gone. Just get somewhere safe." Hayner helped him stand. "Just go!"

" _Listen to him, Sora! Xehanort won't give up until he catches you. Get out of here!_ "

Sora reached into his pocket and grabbed the star shard. "Once I'm gone, you guys get out of here."

"Deal."

Closing his eyes, Sora focused on the object in his hand. In a moment, light surrounded him, and he felt the familiar feeling of shooting into space.

* * *

He felt everything rush past him until he hit the ground, the impact jolting his entire body. His vision began going in and out as he heard footsteps coming across the ground, in his direction.

"SORA!"

The boy knew the voice at once. "K-Kairi…"

"Sora!" He could barely see her now, as she knelt beside him. "Oh gosh, Sora!" She rolled him onto his back, but by now he could see nothing but dark shapes and blurs, and everything soon went black.

* * *

Sora stood on the stained-glass platform, which bore an image of himself. He looked around him and saw a figure with bronze-colored hair sitting on the edge. "Roxas?" He grinned. "Hey, Roxas!"

The figure turned around and Sora saw that it was Roxas. "Hey, Sora."

"How are you?"

"Eh, can't complain." The other boy grinned. "But, you got hurt and knocked out bad. That's the only reason you can see me."

Sora sat down beside his Nobody. "Yeah, Young Xehanort got me, but I made it to Yen Sid's tower. So, I should be good."

"Hope so…" Roxas's voice began to fade away, and Sora saw him fade away. Sora looked around and saw two figures with their backs to him. One wore a long black coat and had short black hair; by their figure, it was a girl. The second one was a boy with hair like Roxas', but a little lighter color.

"Who are… you…?"

Before the two turned around, light exploded around him.

"Sora… wake up…"

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne, or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Jeremiah is based on my younger brother. A picture of him will be put on Deviantart in a day or two.

* * *

 _VA:_

 _Jeremiah Reach- Jason Marsden (Impulse/Bart Allen, Max Goof, Kovu)_

* * *

 **Reasons Why**

Some of you may wonder why I'm doing and why I have done these little devos at the bottom of my stories. Or, you may have wondered why I am a Christian.

Before I really start the devos, I'm going to take this one to tell you why I believe what I believe.

If you have read the Narnia series, you would know a character named Puddleglum. This character, after taking a class on C.S. Lewis, helped me really understood why I believe what I do.

In one moment of the book, he and the others are put under a spell by a witch and she makes them believe that everything outside of her realm is but a dream. Puddleglum undoes the spell and gives a speech to the witch:

 _"One word, Ma'am," he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. "One word. All you've been saying is quite right, I shouldn't wonder. I'm a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won't deny any of what you said. But there's one more thing to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things-trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we're leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that's a small loss if the world's as dull a place as you say."_

This basically says what I believe.

I choose to believe in God and what He says, because why would I want to believe in anything else?

The world says we evolved and came into being by accident; we are nothing more than cells with no real purpose in life. God says that we were made in his image, crafted by his hands, made on purpose and that we each have a purpose in our lives.

The world looks at illness and pain, some of which is fatal and says there's nothing they can do. God says that we are healed. The lame can walk, the blind can see, the deaf can hear, those with cancer can be made whole, those with incurable diseases can be healed.

The world looks at death as the end; when we die, that's it, that's all there is. God says, that if we believe and accept him, we get to live forever in Heaven, where the streets are made of gold and there is a mansion waiting for us.

The world looks at people and says that they are alone; people turn their backs on each other all the time, and we all feel alone sometimes, and many people feel like no one could ever love them. God looks down and sees us as we are, no matter what mistakes we've made, no matter if we believe in him or not, and he loves us all regardless.

Why would I want to believe what the world says? The world talks of darkness and that there is no hope, no purpose.

But God is the light in the darkness, the hope for the hopeless, and He has a purpose for each of us.

This is why I believe what I believe.


	3. Chapter 3: Old and New Reunions

**Hi guys!**

 **I hope you guys are doing well.**

 **If you are wondering why the chapters are so short, don't worry, they will get longer as we get further into the story.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Old and new Reunions**

* * *

Sora's eyes came open, slowly. He blinked at the yellowish-tan roof above him. "Huh… where am I?"

Just then, he noticed a weight on his chest; barely lifting up his head, he was able to make out a familiar head of red hair and a lovely, heart-shaped face. The face moved and the eyes opened to reveal beautiful indigo colored ones. "Sora, you're awake!"

"Hi Kairi, good to see you."

"Same to you." She sat up and took his hand. "I'm so glad you're alright. We didn't know if you were going to make it for a few minutes there."

Sora sat up and looked down at his bare chest. A small wound was still visible, but very faint. "Crap, that younger Xehanort got me good." Looking over at the chair to his left, he could see his white shirt draped over it. At least, the shirt had been white, but now a big red stain decorated it.

"That was a nasty injury." Jiminy sat on a table nearby. "How'd you get it?"

"Young Xehanort," Sora let out a long sigh. "He tried to attack some kid, and I just jumped in front of the attack."

The cricket closed the journal in his hands. "I see. I'll be right back you two." He leapt off the table and scurried out of the room. A few moments later Riku, with Jiminy on his shoulder, came inside with Lea, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey.

"And now my shirt is ruined…" Sora laid back down. "Mom and Dad gave me that… it was one of my Dad's old shirts."

Kairi sighed. "Sorry…"

"No 'hi' for us?" The duck crossed his wings.

Sora chuckled lightly, "Sorry… it is good to see all of you."

"Glad you're alright Sora."

"Yeah," Mickey smiled, "We were all worried."

"Sorry…" Sora picked up his bloody shirt and frowned.

"I think I have an extra shirt you can borrow," Riku turned around and left the room. A minute later, he returned and tossed a white shirt at his friend. "Put that on. Master Yen Sid wants to talk with us."

"Aw, come on, I just woke up."

Riku waited until his friend put the shirt on before he grabbed Sora by the collar and hoisted him off the bed. "Let's go." Kairi laughed as her two dearest friends left the room, bickering.

Lea gave a small bow and held the door open. "After you, milady."

"Shut up you ham." The princess lightly bopped him on the head.

* * *

Master Yen Sid looked up and smiled as Riku and the others came in; his eyes fixed on Sora. "Ah, Sora. It is good to see you up and well. We were concerned when you arrived. Would you explain what happened?"

"The younger version of Xehanort attacked Twilight Town trying to find me. I refused to come with him and he attacked a child; I got between his attack and the kid and well, I got hit. Some others who were fighting, held Xehanort off until I was able to get away."

The old wizard sat silently for a moment. "Sora, I do not believe it is safe for you to travel alone anymore. Now that Xehanort is active again, as we have heard nothing from him since your Mark of Mastery exam, you are in danger." Sora moved to answer, but Yen Sid held a hand up, to silence him. "I know you have fought them off before, but, as I am sure that you have noticed, your power has significantly decreased (1). After you fell into Xehanort's trap, much of your power disappeared. You will need to regather your strength."

"I understand…" The boy's face fell as he stared at his shoes. The others looked on in sympathy.

"But you are strong, and I know you will restore that strength soon enough." The wizard gave a rare smile, which brought a similar smile to Sora. "Now that Xehanort is back, we need to gather the others… the three Keyblade wielders who were lost thirteen years ago."

Riku cocked his head slightly. "You mean the three Mickey told me about?"

"Yes. Terra, Aqua, and Ventus must be returned to the light. And we only know the location of Aqua. She is trapped in the Realm of Darkness and we must rescue her."

The mouse king nodded. "We need to find a way into the Realm of Darkness. I had trouble getting there the first time; It will take us a long time to find an entrance."

"Or not." Lea grinned. "Master, I can use my dark corridors, if you let me, to take us to the Realm of Darkness."

"Hold on!" Jiminy tapped his foot, glaring at the tall redhead. "You know as well as the rest of us that using those corridors is risky."

Yen Sid looked over at the pyro. "Jiminy is correct; those corridors are dangerous, but you do make a good point. However, if I grant you permission to use them, you may only use the corridors in the direst of circumstances."

"Agreed."

Mickey grinned. "Now we can go save her!"

"Let's go!"

The others backed up as the wizard held out a hand. A lock appeared over Lea's chest and all of them heard the sound of it being unlocked. "Again, Lea, only use these abilities when in dire need."

The pyro nodded and turned to the others. "Alright, let's move." He held out a hand and a dark corridor appeared. "After you…"

Slowly, they all filed into the corridor, Lea going in last. Yen Sid looked out the window. "So, it begins at last…"

* * *

"I can feel the darkness all around us… it's so stifling…"

Sora stretched. "When I came back, I didn't think I'd be coming back to this place right off."

"I know."

"Lea," Kairi looked at her fellow red-head. "Do you know where we are in this world?"

"Yep. This world leads to one point; no matter how far you walk, you will always end up in one place. The dark shore. I put us near there, on purpose."

They took a few steps before Sora stopped. "Uh, guys… I know I should've asked this earlier, but why did we come here exactly?"

"… Sora, you are braindead sometimes." Riku turned on him.

The boy shrugged. "Hey, I knew someone needed help, so I didn't want to waste time with questions. So, while we walk, can you please explain everything?"

"Fine…" his best friend scowled; the others chuckled at Sora's innocent response. So, as they walked, Mickey, Jiminy, and Riku took turns explaining everything.

"Wow… just, wow."

Sora grinned. "Now I'm really ready to rescue all of them."

"We're not far from the shore." The pyro waved them forward.

They came around a bend and the ground changed from solid rock to black sand. The sound of water beating gently against the land echoed around them. Soon, they could see a calm beach, with waves lapping against the sand. Kairi stared out across the water. "Wow, it is so peaceful here."

"I know." Riku closed his eyes and listened. "The one place of peace in this dark realm."

Down on the beach, sat two figures, a woman with blue hair, and the other wore a black coat, but he did not seem threatening. Mickey smiled and rushed forward. "Aqua! Aqua!"

The woman jumped slightly and turned around. "Mickey!?" The mouse leapt on her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. The woman blinked in shock but soon hugged him back. "Mickey… My friend." They separated. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to get you out of here!"

"We?" She looked up and saw everyone else. "My goodness." The group came closer and Aqua looked up, eyes widening in recognition as she beheld the first three. "Sora? Riku? And, is that Kairi?"

"Good to see you again, Aqua." Riku held out a hand to her.

She took his hand and stood. "All of you… you're here? It has been so long. You were barely above my knees and Kairi, you weren't even from the same world as these two."

"It's a long story, but I ended up on their world and I've lived there for years."

"I see." Aqua let out a deep breath and the others saw a tear glinting in her eyes.

"Aqua," her fellow Keyblade Master smiled. "I never got to thank you. You saved me, at the risk of yourself. Because you did that, you were trapped here, but I got to live, thank you."

"You're welcome, Riku." She smiled gently.

"Aqua," Lea approached. "Hi, I'm Lea. I'm a Keyblade wielder, like these guys."

The woman's eyes widened. "Wait, are all of you Keyblade wielders?"

"Everyone but me and Donald." Goofy gave a small smile.

Aqua looked around, slightly in shock. Part of her still believed that this was one of many rescue dreams she'd had over the years. However, the light from the people before her was more than a dream. "So, when are we to leave… and may my friend join us?" The Keybearer turned around and smiled at the hooded figure.

"Who is he?"

"I don't know," the woman shrugged. "He has very few memories."

Mickey strode fearlessly towards the man. "Show us your face." The figure reached up and pulled back his hood to reveal an aged face with blond hair and beard. "Ansem the Wise!?"

"Is that my name?" The man's eyes looked down at the mouse, all faded and confused. "Wait… th-that is my name. I do remember that now."

Lea took a few steps closer to the old man. "Lord Ansem, it's really you." He merely gave Lea a confused shrug. "Oh well, never mind."

"Sorry, young man, that I do not know you."

Riku sighed. "Well, Ansem, it is good to see you. Now, why don't we get back to the Realm of Light?"

"Light…" Aqua let out a deep sigh. "I have missed it."

"Well, you will have to wait some more." Everyone turned; two figures in black cloaks stood there. The taller of the two bore a familiar face, shrouded by long silver hair.

Riku snarled. "Ansem…"

"Wait, I thought that was my friend?" Aqua cocked her head.

"Different Ansem. An evil one; he's Xehanort's Heartless." This shocked Aqua.

"Lea, get that corridor open!" Mickey summoned his Keyblade. "Riku and I will cover your escape."

"Got it!"

Xehanort's Heartless summoned his guardian behind him and charged forward. Suddenly, the other figure charged in, past Riku and Mickey, straight for Lea. "Look out!"

Sora turned to fight, but he paused. "What in the…!?"

Kairi stood between the other figure and Lea; she held the figure's arms at a distance. Her eyes were hard like Sora had never seen them before. The Princess of Heart twisted the person's arms behind his back and slammed them into the ground. (2)

"Kairi…?!"

The girl looked up. "Go, I'll follow!"

"Let's go Sora!" Donald and Goofy ushered Ansem the Wise and Aqua into the corridor. Sora moved to go through the portal but stopped as he watched Kairi lift the hooded figure up and kicked him in the back, sending the guy flying into Ansem.

"Go!" Mickey, Riku, and Kairi ran into the portal, dragging Sora with them.

* * *

The group landed on the ground outside of Yen Sid's tower. "Ow."

"W-we made it out…" Everyone looked over and saw Aqua kneeling on the ground. "Light. Light again."

"Welcome back." She looked up and saw Sora holding out a hand. For a second, Sora's face changed the Ven's. When it faded, she smiled.

"Thank you, Sora."

" _Yes, thank you, Sora…_ "

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this one.**

 **Already different from the original, is it not.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This is mentioned in 2.8 as well.

(2) Training Series reference.

* * *

 **The Light of Love**

To begin, I want you all to understand how much you are loved.

God loves each and every one of you, even if you do not believe in him or do not love Him back. Love is something that each of us has heard of and, hopefully, we express it in some way to someone.

Many of you, possibly because someone who claimed to be a Christian (which I will discuss in a later devo), said something that makes it sound like God hates you, want nothing to do with God. However, I want to tell you, that God does not hate you. God loves you.

1 John 4:8 says, " _Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love_." God is love itself. No matter what we do, good or bad, God still loves us eternally. Romans 5:8 says, " _but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us._ "

Most of you have probably heard the verse John 3:16, " _For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life._ " Even if you don't want to believe if someone was willing to give up something precious in order to save you, would you not want to know?

God wants you to know that He loves you so much. There is nothing you could do, that could make Him love you any less. Nothing can separate you from His unending love.

Romans 8:37-39, " _No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord._ "

I just want you to know, that you are loved. The creator of the universe looks down, and looks past all your wrongdoings and says that He loves you.


	4. Chapter 4: The Radiance of Home

**This chapter took me forever but I finally got it done!**

 **I hope you guys like it!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Sasuke Kazekiri © to Yamichaos27!**

 **Other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Radiance of Home**

* * *

Aqua knelt on the ground, trembling. "F-Finally… I'm out. It's been so long…" A pair of feet approached and stopped before her. She looked up. "Master Yen Sid?"

"It is good to see you, Master Aqua." The old wizard gave a small, rare smile. He looked over at Ansem the Wise, who seemed very confused, but watched quietly. "Master Riku, escort our guests inside. We will speak more once they are comfortable."

The boy helped Aqua to her feet and led her inside, with Ansem the Wise following.

* * *

"I need to go see Ven." Aqua looked from Yen Sid to Mickey.

"You will have the chance but you must rest first." The mouse king quietly told her. "Master Yen Sid, what about Ansem? His memory is gone."

The blond man shook his head. "Do not worry, old friend. My memories have been returning since we left the Realm of Darkness."

"His mind was tainted by the darkness, all he needed was exposure to the light to repair his mind."

"That's good," Lea grinned. "Radiant Garden need's its ruler to be in top form, physically and mentally."

The old man looked at the pyro. "Lea, our home…"

"It's back to normal. Even, Ienzo, Dilan, and Aeleus are back too."

"That's good…" the ruler sighed.

"Speaking of Radiant Garden…" Aqua turned on Kairi, Riku, and Sora. "Kairi, you used to live there. How do you know these two?"

The Princess of Heart shrugged. "All I know is after the world fell I ended up on the islands; all my other memories are gone. I-I wish I could remember more…" Her face fell, so Sora reached over, taking her hand in his.

Aqua watched this and smiled. "I know the reason." She walked over and touched the necklace around Kairi's neck. "You still have this… I met you when you were a little girl. After I rescued you from monsters, I cast a spell on you, through this necklace: that one day when you were in trouble, that the light within you would lead you to the light of another, someone to keep you safe. It looks like my spell worked." Her eyes glanced over at Sora, just for a moment.

"Oh… well, thank you."

Aqua nodded. "Master Yen Sid. I need to go see Ven now. May I please go?" He nodded. "Thank y… oh wait. I don't have my armor…"

"Here," Sora walked over, handing her his star shard. "Just think and this will take you where you want to go."

"Thank you!" She jogged outside; moments later, a light flashed.

"And she's gone… So, I met that Ven guy once." Lea spoke up. "It's been a long time, but I remember a little about him."

Mickey cocked his head. "Really?"

"Yeah, he looked like Roxas, I think… again, it's been a long time, and it was just one meeting."

Kairi elbowed him with a smirk. "Didn't get it memorized, huh?"

"Oh shut up!"

The others chuckled, even Ansem the Wise, who stared at the pair, with gentle eyes, filled with recognition.

* * *

Soon, Aqua returned. She came in smiling, but her eyes betrayed her. "He hasn't woken up yet, but he is alright."

"Sorry, Aqua."

"Aqua," Ansem stood up. "I just remembered something. You mentioned that your armor is missing; it wouldn't happen to be blue and silver and went missing with a Keyblade?" The young woman nodded. "I thought as much. We found your armor years ago, back in Radiant Garden. We stored it in the lower laboratories of the castle, to keep it safe."

"Really? Can we go retrieve it?"

He nodded. "Of course."

"We'll come too!" Sora grinned. "We can take the gummi ship back to Radiant Garden. We need to start looking around for Xehanort anyway, and we can look for a way to help Ven too."

Yen Sid nodded in agreement. "All of you should go. You will need as much help as you can get to thwart the plans of Xehanort."

"Sounds good! Let's go!"

* * *

As the gummi ship streaked through space, Jiminy sat on a nearby table, asking Aqua and Ansem about their time in the Realm of Darkness; as they spoke, he wrote. Kairi smiled but then locked eyes with Ansem the Wise. The older man had been glancing at her throughout the entire flight. "Ansem, sir… why do you keep looking at me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," he gave a smile. "You just look familiar, that's all."

"I mean, I did grow up on your homeworld…"

He nodded. "I know. You were but a child then. I-I used to see you in town at times, and it is amazing to see how you have grown." He smiled at her, and for some reason, this brought a peace and joy into the girl's heart.

"We're here!" Sora called back from the driver's seat. "It looks like they added some kind of hanger. We can park in there." Slowly he brought the ship into the hanger, landing it smoothly.

As everyone left the ship, the door to the hangar opened. A young man, with silver-blue hair which hung over his eyes, came inside with two other men, one with scraggly orange hair and the other with black dreadlocks and long sideburns.

"Oh, it's you…"

Lea waved. "Hey, there guys! How are things?"

"They're going well," The young man nodded. He paused, noticing Riku and Sora staring in their direction. "Lea, did you not explain things to them?"

The pyro waved a hand dismissively. "Of course I did, but you know it's still going to be strange for them." He turned to the others. "Guys, these guys are Ienzo, Aeleus, and Dilan."

"Ienzo…" Ansem the Wise stepped forward, much to the surprise of the three. "Dilan, Aeleus… It is good to see you."

"L-lord Ansem!?"

Lea grinned, "We found him in the Realm of Darkness, and we thought we'd bring him home."

"Thank you." Dilan approached. "We did not know what had befallen him, and we were worried." The three men all bowed before their lead. "Lord Ansem, we must first apologize for what we did to you during our time in the organization… and this apology extends to everyone else gathered here."

Ansem looked down at them and smiled. "All is forgiven, for you were not truly yourselves. Now, let us set to bringing our home back to its glory, together." The three all straightened up and smiled, even Dilan and Aeleus.

"I'll go inform Even that you have returned!" Ienzo turned and ran back inside.

"Dilan," the ruler turned to him, would you and Aeleus please escort our guest to a more comfortable area while I take Master Aqua down to retrieve some lost property of hers?"

"Of course, my lord."

Aqua followed Ansem the Wise down a hidden flight of stairs, while the others went inside, to a nicely-furnished area, with many couches.

As the others laid down, Lea stretched. "Well, time for a nap."

"Lea, I think you should go into town."

"Why would I do that right now, Dilan?"

The guard gave the pyro a stern look. "Shinra has recently returned." This made Lea's eyes widen. "And your mother has returned with them…" Lea gave no reply; he merely turned around and ran straight out of the room.

"And there he goes."

As Aqua and Ansem returned, Sora cocked his head and asked. "What is Shinra?"

"It's a company," Ansem replied. "They provide protection services and have helped the guard at times. They also have top-of-the-line technology and a large scientific research department. The only problem is that their president helped Xehanort by funding his research here; however, he had no knowledge of Xehanort's true intentions."

"Now that they've returned, President Shinra has stated he's going to be working to help rebuild the world since they helped destroy it." Even entered the room, with Ienzo. "They've been doing an excellent job. A few days ago, they brought three ships full of refugees. They're doing their best to bring the world back to the way it was."

Goofy grinned. "Why don't we go check it out and see what the town looks like. It's probably changed since we were here last."

"Good idea! We could even meet Lea's mom too."

"Aeleus knows where he lives," Ienzo piped up. "The captain used to have him escort Lea home all the time after he and Isa would cause trouble."

The group, save Aqua, had all heard about Isa from Lea. Kairi looked over at the guard. "Who's the captain Ienzo mentioned?"

"Oh…" Suddenly, what seemed like a rain cloud fell over everyone. "Well, h-he was our captain of the guard and a good friend. He died when the world fell."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Ansem cleared his throat. "Well, all of you should go ahead into town." The group quickly got up and left, seeing that the guards and scientists needed some time to themselves.

* * *

The moment the castle gates opened to the outside, a wave of heavenly smells filled the air. Everyone took in a deep breath. "Wow!"

"No kidding." From the gates, they could see the town spreading out before them, and on all sides, were flowers of all colors. The sky gleamed brightly and shimmering lights trickled down from the sky.

Donald gaped. "Wooow!"

"This place has certainly changed since we were here last. It's so beautiful."

"Let's go look around." The group spread out and went down into the town.

Sora ended up walking with Kairi; the princess sighed. "Darn, we never did find out where Lea lived."

"We'll find him, we just have to look around."

* * *

Lea looked up at the two-story house, filled with so many memories from his childhood: some good, some bad. Slowly, he walked up to the door and knocked. For a moment there was no answer, but he could hear some noise behind the door, and then the handle began to turn.

It opened to reveal a woman with wavy auburn hair and brown eyes, dressed in a nice suit. She stared at Lea with wide eyes. "L-Lea…"

"Hi, Mom."

"Lea!" The woman threw her arms around him, sobbing. "My boy! I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too, Mom." The pyro hugged her back.

His mother stepped back, her hands resting on his shoulder while one came up and touched his cheek. "I thought you were dead!"

"I-I'm alright, Mom…"

"Cissnei, what's going on?" A woman with short blonde hair and brown eyes, dressed in a red and pink dress with a black sweater.

Cissnei (1) turned around. "Lea's home!"

"Hello Mika," Lea smiled at the other woman. "It's good to see you."

The woman walked over and hugged them, but then she started looking around and behind Lea. "Is my son with you?"

"Oh… no." The pyro's face fell.

"Where is he?"

"Mika," Lea bit his lip. "I'm sorry…"

The woman's eyes widened. "Where is he? What's happened? Where is my son? Where is Isa!?"

"Mika… you might want to sit down…"

* * *

Sora and Kairi made their way out of the market, hand-in-hand; the flower petals fluttered around them as the natural perfume enveloped them. "Any memories coming back, Kairi?"

"Sorry, no." The princess sighed. "There is this sense that I've been here before, but that's it."

The two paused as they saw Lea leaving a house; he paused hugging a woman who must have been his mother, before walking away. He noticed the two and waved, though hints of sorrow tainted his countenance. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey!" Sora grinned. "How'd the meeting with your mom go?"

"It went well."

"That's good." Kairi patted his shoulder. "So, you want to hang out with us or go find some of the others?"

The young man shrugged. "Actually, I was going to go to a bar. And since you two are underage, you can't come (2)."

"You drink?"

"Nah," he waved his hand. "I'm meeting someone."

"Oooh." Kairi teased playfully. "Is it a special someone? Maybe a girl?"

The pyro paused and looked her straight in the eye. "Actually, it is a girl." With that, he continued walking.

"Oh. I was just joking…"

Sora laughed. "Let's follow him and meet her."

* * *

Lea approached the door of the 7th Heaven Bar(3); as he reached for the door handle, the door opened and nearly hit him. "Whoa!" He stumbled back and landed on his bottom.

"Oh! I-I'm so sorry!" A young woman with short brown hair, dressed in a red and black dress, with glazy silver eyes stood over him.

"Sera, it's fine. You just startled me."

Sera stood there, cocking her head for a moment; her eyes lit up for a moment before she grinned and tackled him in a hug. "Lea! Oh, I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, sweetheart." Just as Sora and Kairi approached, Lea leaned over and kissed the girl on the forehead. He touched her hair. "You got a haircut. It looks good on you."

"Yuffie said the same, but I can't really have an opinion." Sera allowed the pyro to help her stand up. "But it does appear that we have an audience."

Now, Lea turned around and saw the other two. "I figured you'd follow me. Guess I should introduce you; Sora, Kairi this is my girlfriend, Sera. Sera this is Sora and Kairi."

"Nice to meet you!"

The new girl looked at them, her eyes glowing for a second before she waved. "Nice to meet you too."

"Uh," Sora blinked, "Why did your eyes glow like that?"

"Oh," the girl rubbed her arm lightly. "Well, I was scanning your aura: your emotions, intentions, and personality. It's the only way I know what you're like. If you can't tell, I'm blind."

"Oh…"

Lea put an arm around Sera's waist. "Blind or not, she's a sweet girl and I love her." Sera's face instantly flushed red, making Lea chuckle. "Oh, don't be embarrassed, sweetheart."

"Too late…"

Sora and Kairi chuckled. "Well, we'll leave you two alone."

"Have fun."

* * *

Riku shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked. This world was beautiful and he liked to see how it had grown. With all the people coming back to Radiant Garden, shops and all sorts of businesses were popping up all around.

The street he was on was a quieter one. There were mostly houses with a few businesses; children ran up and down the road, laughing and playing. Riku remembered this place when it was Hollow Bastion and it made him so happy to see it thrive.

He went to the end of the street and sat on the stairs of the house that sat there. The door was partially open behind him, but he didn't really care.

As he sat there, he suddenly heard a crash inside the building behind him, followed by a female voice. "Ow…"

Riku stood up, turned around, and went inside. He saw a girl about the age of Sora and Kairi, with dark skin and curly black hair, dressed in a white dress with teal stripes on the bottom. She lay on the ground with an overturned chair behind her and boxes all around her.

"Hey," The Keybearer knelt down and held out a hand. "You ok?"

"Huh? O-oh yeah. I'm alright; I just tripped." She looked up at him.

Riku smiled. "Let me help you." The girl stared at him for a moment before taking his hand. She allowed him to help her stand. "There you go."

"Thank you… uh…"

"Riku."

"Thank you, Riku." She smiled. "My name's Hara (4)." Hara looked down and set the fallen chair back up. "I was carrying boxes and I couldn't see the chair in my way, so I fell." She went to pick up one of the boxes and Riku picked up the other. "Oh, well, I can handle it."

Riku shrugged. "I'm here, so I might as well help."

The girl smiled. "Alright, then. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth… not that I'm calling you a horse. It's an expression."

"I know. It's alright." He carried the box behind a counter. He looked out at the room; it was small but had a few tables and barstools. The kitchen he now stood in was small but had a lot of equipment.

"I know it's not much," Hara set her box down. "But I'm just opening a café, not a full restaurant. I don't expect many people to sit in."

Riku put his box down and looked over. "A café huh. Looks nice. So, what's your story?"

"Same as everyone else," she opened the box and began removing saucers and cups. "When the fall happened, my house collapsed and my mother and father died. A Shinra agent pulled me out of the wreckage and took me to another world. They brought us back last week, and I'm happy to be home. But I thought you'd know this since you're from here."

Riku chuckled. "Actually, I'm not from here."

"Huh?"

"I'm from another world. If you've been hearing about the Keyblade wielders, I'm actually one of them." The boy glanced in her direction, only to laugh at her stunned expression.

Hara clasped her hands. "That's so amazing!"

"I guess it is…"

"Well," the girl cleared her throat. "Thank you so much, Riku. There's got to be some way I can repay you."

Riku waved his hand dismissively. "Eh, it's no trouble."

"No. I'm going to repay you somehow. I don't have much munny, but will free coffee for life work?"

"I think that'll work." The Keyblade wielder chuckled. "Could I have some of that repayment now, if it's no trouble?"

"It's no trouble at all. I always have coffee ready. That's the only reason I've been able to stay awake for the last few days." She went over to a box and moved it revealing a coffee pot behind it. "How do you like your coffee?"

Riku went to the other side of the counter and sat on a barstool. "Straight black. I'm a very boring person when it comes to food."

Hara laughed. "Alright, here you go." She poured him a cup and slid it across the counter.

"Guess this makes me your first customer."

"Guess it does." She poured herself a cup and filled it with creamer and sugar. Pulling up a stool, she sat across from him, smiling. "Now, why don't you tell me about your homeworld?"

* * *

"So, where have you been?" Mickey looked over as Riku came over. All the others were sitting in the square, talking.

The Keyblade master shrugged. "Oh, not much. I just walked around and got myself a cup of coffee."

"Coffee huh?"

"Yeah, I helped out a girl who was going to open a café and she offered me coffee." Riku sat down and leaned back against a ledge. "Speaking of girls, who's that with Lea."

Kairi leaned over and smirked. "Oh, that would be Sera… Lea's girlfriend."

"Since when did he have a girlfriend?"

"Apparently since 8 months ago." The princess chuckled.

Her two best friends gave her a look. "You're never going to let him hear the end of this, are you."

"Absolutely not."

They laughed. "For a Princess of Heart, you are vicious."

"I know!"

The moment broke as the screams of children rang through the air. Two children came running in, with Heartless on their tail. "Heartless!"

In moments, the monsters of darkness poured into the square. Each one of the warriors summoned their weapons, preparing to face the onslaught. "Sera," Aqua called to the blind girl. "Get behind us!"

"I can handle myself!" The girl flicked her hand forward and a wave of fire suddenly appeared, washing back the hoard of monsters.

"What the!?"

Lea smirked. "Don't worry about her. She's just as tough as any of us."

"Alright then!"

With another wave of fire, Sera was able to push the monsters back again. Just then a roar pierced the air. The Heartless split apart; a dark monster with blue and pink spikes and chains on its legs stormed into the square. A Dark Hide.

Aqua gasped. "Not that thing…!"

"What is that!?"

"I don't know," the master tightened her grip on the Keyblade. "But it's a tough monster…"

From behind the Dark Hide came a second one, and then a third. The three Dark Hide's snarled at the warriors. "Oh, my gosh…"

"Well, looks like we have an even bigger problem."

"Well," Lea summoned his Keyblade in one hand and his chakram in the other. "Let's give these things one heck of a fight."

With that, the monsters leapt at them. The group charged back. As they fought, the other Heartless used the distraction of the bigger ones, to slip in an attack on their own.

As they fought, one of the Invisible Heartless swung in and sliced through the group. Kairi leapt to the side to avoid the strike, but she dove directly into the path of one of the Dark Hide.

"KAIRI LOOK OUT!"

The girl looked up just in time to see the monster's jaws ready to close around her. Just as it was about to chomp down, it froze, a thin line appeared down the middle before the monster slid in half.

"Huh…"

As the monster dissipated, a young man stood in its place. "Are you alright?" He held out a hand to Kairi. He was about Lea's age with black hair and green eyes; a scar ran down the left side of his face, from his eyebrow down to his cheek, and he was dressed in armor. He held out a hand and helped the princess up.

"Thank you, sir."

"Kairi!" Sora came over and took her hand. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Sora."

The young man stared at them, mouth open. "Kairi…" He stood there, staring at the girl, but suddenly his senses went on high alert. He whirled around and sliced through another Heartless. But, by now the other two Dark Hides were gone and only a few small Heartless remained.

When those few were gone, Lea turned and looked at the young man. "Hey!"

"Hey!" The warrior held up his hands. He and Lea closed the gap and embraced.

They pulled back and the pyro slapped the guy's shoulder. "Sasuke Kazekiri(5)! Man, it is good to see you!"

"Good to see you too Lea!" Sasuke laughed.

Lea looked his friend up and down. "You look good. Nice scar by the way."

"Thanks, man. Nice eyeliner." The two burst out laughing.

Lea put his arm around his friend and looked at the others. "Guys, this is Sasuke, we were friends when we were kids."

"If by friends, you mean that you got in trouble and dragged me into it."

"Exactly," Lea grinned. "We were friends."

The two laughed once more making everyone else smile. Kairi walked over and bowed her head respectfully. "Sasuke, thank you for saving me." She held out a hand. "My name's Kairi!"

"Uh…" Sasuke blinked before slowly shaking her hand. "I-it's nice to meet you…"

"Sasuke," Lea coughed, "Why don't you go up to the castle and see Lord Ansem? We'll follow. Then, you and I can catch up later."

The swordsman nodded. "Sure."

* * *

Ansem, no dressed in his old lab coat, looked up as Sasuke came inside his office. For a moment, the older man didn't recognize him. "Wait… Sasuke?"

"It's been a long time, hasn't it my lord?"

"Indeed it has."

From behind the old ruler, Dilan came into the room, pausing at the sight of the young swordsman. "We were just about to decide who the new captain of the guard should be and the perfect candidate walks in."

"Dilan, we'll discuss this later."

"Alright."

The rest of the group walked in and Aqua approached the desk. "Ansem, sir, we were wondering if we could stay the night? We'll leave in the morning to search for a way to help Ven and to combat Xehanort."

"Of course. I have already had rooms prepared for each of you. Anytime that you come back to this world, you may stay here. And for tonight, just ask any of the servants, they know where the rooms are."

"Thank you, sir."

The ruler gave her a soft look. "I am sorry about your friend… but what happened to him? You never told me."

"Oh… well, his heart is sleeping and is also not in his body. We don't know where it is, but he is somewhere safe where Xehanort will never find him."

"I see," Ansem sighed. "Well, if there's anything we can do to help, let us know."

"I will."

As the group began to trickle out of the room, Sasuke looked around. "Uh, where's Lea?"

"Oh," Kairi piped up. "He was going to escort his girlfriend home and wanted me to tell you to meet him near the ice cream shop."

"Girlfriend? Since when has he had… and what girl would… oh never mind. Thanks, Kairi." Shaking his head as he walked, Sasuke left the room.

* * *

"There you are!" Lea's head lifted at the sound of his friend's voice. "You better have bought some ice cream before they closed."

The pyro held up two sea-salt ice cream bars. "I'd never forget."

The two men, sitting down on a ledge, ate their ice cream, in relative silence until Sasuke let out a long sigh. "So, you going to tell me, or do I have to ask?"

"She doesn't remember anything…" Lea kept his eyes forward, seemingly very interested in the shrub across from them. "She lost her memories long ago; according to the files I found when I snuck into the doctor's office on the islands, the trauma from the fall made her forget. She has a good life there. She has two adoptive parents who love her and she also has Sora and Riku, who are her closest friends. Sora's that guy who was so concerned about her earlier and you've met Riku already (6)."

Sasuke glanced over at him. "How'd you know about that?"

"I was a member of the Organization too, or my Nobody was at least." He took another bite of ice cream. "Sïax gave the report to Xemnas and after I heard it, I came to Traverse Town to find you, but you were gone."

The swordsman shook his head. "So, is Isa himself again too?"

"No. Xehanort was able to possess Isa and is using him to further his plans."

"No…" Sasuke clenched his fists. "I had hoped, that since you were safe he would be too. But I guess we'll just have to find him and save him."

Lea stood up and tossed the stick from his ice cream into the trash. "At least you didn't have to tell his mother…"

"Oh gosh. How did Mika take it?"

"When I left, she was still crying. Isa is all she has left; he always has been, since that jerk, Seymour (7) left her." The pyro kicked a loose rock in his anger. "I just can't seem to hold onto my friends… at least you came back. Isa's gone. My friends… I mean, friend from the Organization is gone. And I lost Kairi, and it took forever to regain her trust, especially after what I did."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the last statement. "What did you do…?"

"My Nobody, in an attempt to bring back a friend, kidnapped Kairi…"

A moment of silence reigned over them until Sasuke stood up and came over. He drew his arm back and landed a right-hook on Lea's face. "You idiot!"

"Nice right-hook…" the pyro rubbed his cheek. "And I know, it was a stupid decision and I paid for it."

"Master Kaname would be so ashamed of you!"

"I know…" Lea looked down. "I know…"

Sasuke gave one last huff. "Sorry, I snapped. I just can't believe you did that."

"We've become friends again, but it took time. But I promise, Sasuke, I'm going to keep an eye on her and do whatever I can to make up for what I did."

The other young man finally gave a smile. "Good, or else, I'd have to kill you."

"Oh no… whatever shall I do?"

"Cut the sarcasm!"

"NEVER!"

* * *

"Sora! We ready to go!?"

Sora looked up from the pilot seat. "Everything's all set!"

"All of you," Ansem came to the door of the gummi ship, followed by Sasuke, who was now wearing the white, black, and gold uniform of the captain of the guard. "Please, be careful."

"We will be," Goofy waved.

The ship shot off into space and Sora punched the air. "LET'S DO THIS!"

* * *

 **I finally finished it!**

 **Dang, there were a lot of characters introduced in this chapter, but I hope you liked it.**

 **Please Review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne, or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Yes, this is the same Cissnei from FF7 and Crisis Core. I think she fits as Lea's mother because of her red hair and because her weapon is similar to Lea's.

(2) I'm going by US law with the drinking age at 21.

(3) Another FF7 reference.

(4) She was originally introduced in the side-story "Island Flower" but since very few people read the story and didn't know her, I decided to change her story to add her in.

(5) He belongs to Yamichaos27, so check out his stories and my story _Radiant Garden Renegades_ if you want to learn more about him.

(6) Reference to Yamichaos27's story _Men in Black Coats_

(7) As in FFX, Seymour Guado

* * *

 _VA:_

 _Mika Gekko- Brina Palencia (Juvia Loxar, Chiaotzu, Vi Graythorn, Moxxi)_

 _Hara Webb- Danielle Nicolet (Storm, Karui, Shaundi)_

 _Sera Rose- Mallorie Rodak (Yukino Aguria, Enishida, Kiyoko Aura)_

 _Sasuke Kazekiri- Jonny Yong Bosch (Takeru Takaishi, Ichigo Kurosaki, Firion)_

* * *

 **Radiance of Christians**

Today, many people want nothing to do with Christianity because of how people, who claim to be Christians, act and/or treat others. However, in most/all of these cases, the people claiming to be Christians, are not Christians.

But how can non-Christians tell the difference? And how should Christians really act? The answers to this are in Galatians 5: 19-26.

The verses 19-21 tell what Christians should not do. " _The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God._ "

This is a very straightforward list. However, all Christians, new or old, are not perfect. This means that we WILL mess up. We WILL do things on that list. Christians are not perfect, but you can know a Christian because they strive to not do these things. They strive for what is told in verses 22-26: " _But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other._ "

A real Christian, though they might mess up, is sincere in their repentance and is striving to act in the fruit of the Spirit.

If you are not a Christian, know this. Anyone claiming to be a Christian, who willingly spreads hatred, discord, and/or does anything on that first list, they are not a real Christian. Real Christians are told to love everyone, no matter what. Now, this does not mean we have to agree with each other on everything, but we can still love all the same.

And for the Christians, make sure that you are striving to live out everything on that second list. You want to show the light of Christ to the world, and that is done in how we act. Do not strive to do anything on that first list. And even if you mess up, because we all do, repent and try not to do it again, with the help of God. And watch yourself, to make sure that you show love, which is the first thing on that second list, to EVERYONE regardless of who they are or what they do.


	5. Chapter 5: Agrabah- The Oracle

**Alright, just so you guys know, KH4 is almost done.**

 **After I finish it, there will be a little system change. I will not be starting KH5 right away. I will be taking the time to finish all the fanfics that I have not finished (DC Takeover, Silver Star, and Keyblade War). I will also be working on my novel.**

 **Speaking of, in the next few weeks I will be publishing a short-story on kindle. It will be a precursor to my novel and it will cost about $1.**

 **I'll be putting up my own website too, and you can find more info there when the site is up.**

 **But, I digress.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Kingdom Heart © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Aladdin © to Disney**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: King of Thieves- The Oracle**

* * *

Sora leaned back in the captain's chair **.** Everyone else was asleep and it was his turn to man the controls. Kairi would be coming to take over in about an hour. As he sat there, he noticed the voice in his head had been very quiet lately.

"Hey, friend, you ok? You've been quiet lately."

The voice didn't answer for a minute. " _Sorry, I've been thinking._ "

"About what?"

" _Well, about Aqua and Ventus._ "

"What about them?" Sora cocked his head, curiously. "Do you know them?"

The voice let out a long sigh. " _More than you know. I'm… really close to them. I was just trying to figure out how Ventus could be awoken._ "

"Well, if you figure something out let me know. I'd love to help them in any way I can."

" _I will._ "

* * *

 _Kairi tossed in her bed, dreaming._

 _In her dream, she saw Ansem the Wise sitting with two figures who were very blurry. Ansem looked at her and smiled. "Kairi, my dear. There you are!"_

 _Before the princess could answer, darkness swallowed the three. "What's going on?" At her feet lay a katana and broach, laying in a pool of blood._

" _Poor princess... " She turned around and saw a man with silver hair standing behind her. "You lost everything once, and I will make sure you lose it all again."_

" _X-xehanort!?" She managed to get out the one word before Xehanort rushed forward, wrapping his hand around her throat; the young man morphed into an old man as he squeezed her neck._

 _His eyes gleamed and she saw flashes of faces in them. "I tore your loved ones away from you and rest assured that I will kill Sora and your new family!" He tightened his grip on her throat and she began to black out._

Kairi sat up, throwing her blankets off, in a frenzy of terror. No Xehanort held her by the throat. It had all been a dream, including his threats. The alarm went off next to her bed; she'd woken up just in time.

Slowly slipping on a bathrobe over her nightdress, she got up and walked to the cockpit. Sora sat in the chair, his eyes barely open. Though her dream caused her great distress, she forced a smile. "Hey, sleepyhead."

"Oh, your turn already?" He rubbed his eyes before yawning.

The girl giggled. "Yeah… go on to bed."

"Alright…" Sora stood up, pausing for a minute. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just had a bad dream. I'm alright."

The boy looked at her as she sat down. "You know, I could make you a cup of coffee before I hit the sack if you want."

"That would be nice." Kairi snuggled down into the soft chair as Sora left. He came back a few minutes later with a steaming mug of coffee. "Thanks. So, where are we headed again?"

"Agrabah. Since we need a way to not only find Ven's heart but to wake him up, I thought we should ask a friend of mine who has 'phenomenal cosmic power'." Sora grinned, as did Kairi. They both knew who he spoke of.

"Genie will be a great help." The girl took his hand. "Now, get some sleep."

"I will…"

* * *

The next morning, a bright light shot down outside the city of Agrabah. Even from outside, the city bustled with excitement. "Is it always like this?" Aqua looked around the unfamiliar world.

"Not usually…" A newspaper, which did not usually belong in that world, blew around and landed at their feet. Goofy picked it up. "Look at this!"

The newspaper had a picture of Aladdin and Jasmine and the title read " _Al 'heart' Jas!_ " As they read further Kairi gasped. "I can't believe it! We made it in time to attend Jasmine and Aladdin's wedding!"

"This is awesome!"

Donald laughed. "Oh boy! Let's find Aladdin!"

"What about Ven?" Aqua understood that everyone was excited, but her mind was on other things.

"If we find Aladdin, we find Genie." Sora grinned. "He's the one who can help. We could find them either at Aladdin's house or at the palace."

Kairi took Aqua's hand. "Why don't you and I go to the palace while the guys go to Aladdin's house."

"Sounds good."

The two girls walked on to the palace and the guys walked over to Aladdin's small house. Goofy, Donald, and Sora moved some boards. They went up a set of stairs into a small little house. Sitting near a broken-apart window was Aladdin. Genie and Abu were beside him. They all turned around to see the guys.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy!" Aladdin leapt to his feet, his face lighting up.

"Well, lookie here," The blue magic-man pulled the trio into a tight hug, "You showed up just in time for the wedding!"

"We saw the papers."

"Congratulations, Aladdin!"

The groom-to-be looked around, "And who are these others?"

"Well, you sort of know Riku; and this is Lea, and King Mickey of Disney Town."

"Nice to meet you!"

Aladdin smiled. "Same to you."

"So," Riku crossed his arms, "what are you doing here instead of preparing for your wedding?"

Genie flew over, throwing an arm around his best friend. "We were just discussing Al's qualifications to being a husband and father."

"Yeah… I'm unsure. I grew up without a father, so I don't know how to be one. I have no idea how to raise a family."

Lea coughed a little into his hand, "If you can believe it, I understand. I have a girl of my own now and I understand how you feel. My father left when I was five. I don't know how to take care of a girl. Love your family and don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it."

Everyone stared at him, in surprise. "Lea..."

"I guess you're right." Aladdin smiled. "Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah. Now get to your wedding." The pyro smirked. "We'll come along behind you."

"Alright."

Genie and Aladdin left, the others staying behind. Mickey sighed. "As much as I'd like to help Ven now, I don't think this is a good time."

"Yeah," Riku agreed, "After the wedding, we'll ask."

"Alright. Now, let's get to the pa…" Light flashed around them and suddenly they were all inside the palace next to Genie.

"What the!?"

"You're welcome." The magical man laughed before zipping off.

"You made it!" Kairi and Aqua came out of a side door.

Sora grinned. "Well, Genie got us here in time. How's Jasmine doing?"

"Excited. Nervous." Aqua smiled. "So, any word on Ven?"

Lea shook his head. "Not yet. We figured it was best to wait until after the wedding was over. Genie already has his hands full enough."

The female Keyblade Master's eyes dropped to the ground, but she smiled. "I guess that makes sense. Well, why don't we enjoy the wedding?"

"Sounds good, and don't worry Aqua. We'll find a way to help Ven."

"I know…" Aqua gave a smile and joined the others in watching Genie, who now wore a tux and carried a microphone, goof off.

"Sora is Genie always like that," Kairi asked? Sora nodded and smiled.

Genie was walking around talking to all the guests like a news anchor, "Hello, and welcome to 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Magical!' That's right; we're taking you to the marriage of a millennium." He turns to the doorway, "And who's this coming on the lovely stretch camel? Oh, it's Cleopatra and Caesar and they're bringing a salad how wonderful."

Riku and Lea shook their heads, "He's quite a character, that Genie!" Goofy nodded in agreement.

Sora stood close to the altar and nearly right beside Aladdin. Suddenly Genie appeared looking a little distraught, "Bad news Al, the boutonnières clash with the cumber buns!" He held out a white boutonnière and a brown cumber bun.

"Genie," Aladdin said unsurely, "isn't it a little late for that?"

"What, what are you trying to say? Out with it! What, what… they're here. Oh no!" He turned into a short white rabbit, very familiar to a number of the Keyblade wielders, wearing a waistcoat and carrying a pocket watch. He ran down the aisle yelling, "I'm late; I'm late, for a very important date!" He went out the doors and then quickly came right back out in a suit. Genie then blew on a horn and then vanished.

In the silence that followed, Abu came dashing down the aisle

Through the doors came Jasmine's bridesmaids, followed by a boy carrying a flag. After them came a small fat man with a white beard, carried on a litter: the Sultan. everyone including Sora and his friends bowed as he passed. "Your majesty, your highness!"

Abu started to chatter excessively and wave to the Sultan who laughed and waved back. The guards reached the end and set down the litter; the Sultan ran off and up to the pavilion.

Aladdin bowed when he reached him, still holding a nervous look on his face, so the Sultan nudged him with his elbow, "Don't look so solemn boy, this is a happy day."

Aladdin looked over at his friends, Sora gave him a thumbs up while Donald and Goofy waved happily. The groom-to-be smiled at their reassurance.

Genie exclaimed, "Oh look, it's a Kodiak moment!" On Genie's left side, a bear appeared and roared. He grabbed it by the mouth and ordered, "Put that bear out of here!"

It vanished and then the genie, with the snap of his fingers, summoned a long white carpet, held by doves, who draped it across down the aisle. Everyone turned to the door and saw peacocks standing in front of it; their feathers contracted and revealed Jasmine, dressed in a long, white wedding gown.

The Sultan smiled, "Ohh…"

"Wow," Aladdin's face became bright with joy!

Kairi placed a hand on her heart, "Oh my, she looks beautiful!" Lea quietly gave a long, low whistle.

As the bride walked down the aisle she spotted Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the crowd. When her eyes rested on them they waved. Her heart leapt at the sight of Kairi who smiled warmly at the fellow Princess of Heart. Mickey, Lea, and Aqua nodded to her and she smiled back though she did not know them but could easily see they were with Sora; however, when her eyes fell upon Riku she gave a small start, swiftly regained her composure, but his presence there made her uneasy. Riku noticed this and turned his face away.

At the end of the aisle, the Sultan took her hand, "I never thought this day would come." He sighed, "Now I'm afraid that it has come all too soon."

Jasmine hugged him, "Oh father."

"It's all so magical," Genie's lip quivered dramatically, I'm not gonna cry. I'm not…" He burst into tears, reaching over and grabbed Carpet. Suddenly, the genie blew his nose on the magic carpet. Sora's mouth dropped as Genie let Carpet go in embarrassment. "Oh Sorry."

Kairi covered her mouth trying to keep herself from laughing.

Jasmine and Aladdin, ignoring the silliness to their left, walked up the pavilion stairs. Aladdin took a deep breath, "Well, we're here…"

Everyone heard Jasmine reply, "Together forever." Just then, the pavilion started to shake.

"I thought to earth wasn't supposed to move until the honeymoon…," Genie coughed.

The Sultan gasped, "Oh, oh, my word!" All turned and saw a large group of elephants burst through the walls and into the pavilion.

Genie changed so that he was wearing a cowboy hat and a plaid bandana around his neck, "STAMPEDE!" As the guests scattered Sora and his friends ran in front of the altar, where Jasmine and Aladdin still stood watching. Another shake and the wedding altar began to crack above the couple, Riku saw it and leapt onto the pavilion and pulled them out of the way as a large chunk fell.

"Thanks, Riku," Aladdin panted. Riku gave a quick nod and returned to the others.

Genie turned and saw an elephant about to smash Abu; he flew swiftly grabbing the monkey in time to save him, "Come here monkey boy. You were almost Dumbo toe jam!" Off to the side, they saw an elephant walk over Carpet. "Oh, they trampled the carpet!"

Lea heard him, "That's a little redundant!"

"This is a really bad day for you, isn't it," Kairi brushed off the magic carpet.

As the elephants began to spread thin, a group of men came running in followed by dozens of Bandit Heartless; the men started robbing the guests.

One of the thieves moved towards Kairi, bearing a sickening grin; Sora saw and ran towards her, but it really wasn't necessary. Kairi whipped out her arm and her Keyblade appeared. The thief was taken aback by the sight of the girl with a sword. She turned on him and in one sweep sent him sprawling on the ground.

Sora stared in awe at her; she looked back at the brunette and gave him a sweet smile.

Some of the guards stood fighting the thieves. One thief stood out from the others. He was muscular with skin of a grey color; he had five o'clock shadow and long stringy mustache. On his hands were black straps, holding three golden claws to them.

He sliced at the guards with his claws, tearing their clothes off and leaving them in their underwear. The guards flinched and covered themselves, "They fight like demons!"

The other one cried, "Worse than demons! These are the Forty Thieves!"

Genie stopped fighting, quickly counting, "Really? I get thirty-nine…"

Aladdin and Sora glanced around the room, they saw another thief in a blue robe that covered his face. "Forty!" They ran at him as he picked up something from the pile of wedding presents.

"Can I see your invitation?" The thief turned and there stood Sora and Aladdin.

"Stay out of my way boys and you won't get hurt." The thief grabbed a statue of an Egyptian cat and threw it at them.

The duo dodged as the thief tried to escape with the grabbed the thing he grabbed earlier. Aladdin and Sora also grabbed it, and the three went sprawling as they fought for a hold on it.

"Fools," the man said, "you don't stand a chance against the King of Thieves!"

"Well then, we'll bow to you when we get up," Sora spat as he kicked the king in the stomach.

* * *

Kairi stood in front of Jasmine sword drawn; Jasmine suddenly stepped out and punched a nearby thief in the face, "That was for ruining my wedding!"

Lea, Kairi, Riku, Aqua, and the thieves they were battling stopped and stared at her in surprise before they continued their battle.

"Wow," Kairi grinned, "that was a nice punch!"

Jasmine gave a small laugh, "You're not the only Princess of Heart that can fight!" Kairi took another swing at a tall skinny thief and laughed.

Genie joined the fray and blocked the escape route of three thieves, alongside Lea. The thieves started taunting them with their weapons. Genie turned to Lea and winked at the redhead before he made six copies of Lea, Chakram/Keyblade and all, and six clones of himself dressed as ninjas. They all spun their weapons around and posed in striking positions. The thieves ran for their lives. The clones disappeared and Lea and Genie fist-bumped.

The magical man grew large and grabbed a nearby elephant and pointed its trunk at some of the thieves, "Freeze sandbags!" Air blew out of its trunk and blew the thieves away, "don't make me use the other end!" It's trunk deflated and Genie gently placed it on the ground; he then pointed his finger and blasted two thieves in the rear end, and to add to the situation, he changed into Forrest Gump. "Mama always said 'magic is as magic does'."

The thief with the claws on his hands roared, "Cassim said nothing about facing the powers of a Genie or the might of Keyblade wielders."

Riku swung in, only for the thief to block. "Well, maybe he didn't know smart guy!"

The thief grabbed Riku's blade and slung the silver-haired boy across the room into a pillar. The thief turned to another and said, "Get the others out of here, we'll leave the King to his plans."

* * *

Aladdin and Sora wrestled with The King of Thieves over the treasure. Sora turned and saw Kairi, Donald, and Goofy coming toward them at full speed.

The king pulled the treasure from their grasp and turned to run; Kairi pushed past the two and tackled The King of Thieves by his legs, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Again, Aladdin tried to wrestle the treasure from the King's hands; before he could pull it away an elephant burst through the wall, heading in their direction. The King of Thieves released the treasure and gave Kairi a hard kick to the face. She flew backward, Sora catching her before she hit her head. Aladdin and the King dove out of the way of the elephant.

As the others came to them, Aladdin stood up, holding the object that the thieves attempted to steal. "Where's the King of Thieves?"

He was nowhere in sight.

* * *

Riku sat against what was left of the pavilion wall watching Lea, Aqua, and the Sultan talk to Genie; he looked to his left and there stood Princess Jasmine. She stared at him with worried eyes.

"Are you scared of me?" He moved into a standing position. She turned her eyes away, embarrassed. "Princess, it's alright. I understand why you would be concerned, but I won't hurt you. When I kidnapped you three years ago I was being used by Maleficent." She looked back into his teal eyes as he continued, "I am very sorry for what I did then and I apologize."

Jasmine went over to him, "I forgive you, Riku was it?" He nodded. "If Sora trusts you enough to bring you here, then I will attempt to trust you too. Now, why don't we find the others." They walked around and they soon spotted them at the gift table, huddled

Riku went up to them, "What happened?"

Jasmine went to her husband-to-be and asked, "What were they after, the gifts?"

"Not all the gifts," he held up the treasure, which was a golden rod with a green stone on the top, "this is what the King of Thieves wanted."

Donald glanced over at the table, "With all the other great stuff."

Iago landed on the rod, "Why go for this thing?" The rod lit up brightly and Sora pulled out his Keyblade, thinking it was a Keyhole; Iago flew off it in fright and landed on Mickey's shoulder.

An image of a woman appeared above the rod; her wavy voice rang out, " _Your question is mine to answer. The King of Thieves sought my sight to find the Ultimate Treasure._ "

The two birds of the group smiled, "Did someone say treasure?"

Aladdin turned to Genie and asked, "Genie?"

"Oooooh," Genie was looking at her and wearing sunglasses, "looks like an Oracle."

" _I see all that has been, and all that will be…_ "

Genie changed into Dustin Hoffman, "Uh oh, uh oh, definitely an Oracle; tells the future, uh oh." He turned to Jasmine as his normal self again, "Girlfriend, where were you registered?"

Iago tapped his claws, "Okay, you know all so tell all. Where is the treasure?"

"You know," Donald added, "the Ultimate one?"

" _I am bound by the rule of one. One question, one answer._ "

"I only want one answer," Iago flapped his wings angrily, "Where is the Ultimate Treasure?"

The Oracle spread her arms out, " _You have already asked your question._ "

"You mean before," The parrot sunk back down to a perch, "Oh, that wasn't a question! That was uh… thinking out loud."

Riku grabbed the obnoxious bird by the beak, "Very loud actually!"

"Aladdin," Jasmine grabbed his arm, "we could learn anything. About our lives, our future."

"She could help us find Ven's heart...," Lea whispered to Goofy who nodded in agreement.

The Oracle stared at them with unblinking, glowing, eyes, " _You have but to ask._ "

Aladdin turned to his fiancé and said, "I know what my future is, my future is you. But my past…" He stared off into the sky. "It's a blank. My mother died when I was just a kid, and I never even knew my father. I have no idea where I come from."

The Oracle again said, " _Your question is your choice. But remember the rule of one. Choose carefully._ "

"Oh sure," Iago whined, "She warns him about the one question thing." Carpet knocked the intolerable parrot away.

Aladdin looked into her glowing eyes, "I don't think you can help me. My past isn't just one question, it's a million questions."

" _Ah,_ " the Oracle mused, " _but mere questions about your past can be answered by your father…_ "

Aladdin's eyes grew huge, "My father?" The Oracle waved her hand and a picture appeared of an older man with graying black hair, mustache, and a short beard. "My father is alive?!"

* * *

The soon-to-be-married couple had gone to discuss and think on the questions to ask the oracle. They had given permission to Sora and the others to as the magical being anything.

Kairi handed the Oracle's staff to Aqua. "You should be the one to ask the first question."

"Thank you."

The magical woman appeared. " _Have you chosen your question?_ "

"I have." The Keyblade master closed her eyes. "Where is the heart of my friend, Ventus?"

" _He stands among you at this moment, though you see him not. He has been with you since the beginning of your ventures._ "

Mickey piped up. "That's not enough information."

"Can you tell us more?" Riku asked.

The Oracle looked at them, but Sora could almost feel her eyes staring directly into his own. " _You hear his voice, for he is with you._ " No one else noticed her looking at him, no one but Jiminy.

"That's still no help!"

Donald began to mutter angrily, but Sora placed a hand on his shoulder. "Oracle, how can we restore Ven's heart to his body?"

" _You must go to him and trust your heart. The answer will find you._ " The Oracle suddenly went back into her rod.

Before they could ask another question, Aladdin and Jasmine flew to the palace balcony on Carpet; they stood facing each other.

He looked into Jasmine's eyes, "There's so much I want to know."

"Now you've got the chance to learn," she answered

"If it means, I'd have to go…"

"I'll be right here when you return. Our wedding can wait." The two hugged lovingly.

Aladdin smiled at her, "I love you

"I think it's worth this small delay." Kairi came up to the couple and handed them the rod.

"Maybe you're right."

"And won't it be great to have your father see our wedding day? It isn't too late."

They held up the Oracle and the others gathered around, as the woman's image appeared in the sky; she asked, " _Have you chosen your question?_ "

Aladdin nodded, "I have."

" _Then ask._ "

"Where is my father?" he asked slowly.

She pointed towards the desert, " _Follow the trail of the Forty Thieves. Your father is trapped within their world._ "

Everyone gasped, "THE FORTY THIEVES?!"

"Is he hurt," Aladdin asked in earnest, "how long has he been their prisoner?"

The Oracle held out her hands, " _I am sorry. I can only answer one question._ " She then disappeared.

Aladdin looked down at his feet and said, "It's up to me."

Jasmine put a hand on her fiancé's shoulder, "Take as long as you need."

"Yea and these guys will be with you the entire time," Iago pointed at the Keybearers!

"No," Aqua shook her head. "We have to figure out how to help Ven. We can't delay."

Riku nodded, "She's right, but we'll be sure to come back when we can."

Aladdin smiled and then turned back to Jasmine, "I'll be back in time for our wedding, I promise." They hugged and Aladdin turned away, leaving the eight staring after him. The Oracle's rod lit up again and turned into a Keyhole; Sora held out his Keyblade to close it, but Kairi pushed past him.

"Let me have a go," she summoned Destiny's Embrace and held it out toward the Keyhole; a beam of light shot out of the blade and into the Keyhole. It closed with a click.

Jasmine knew what that meant, "Be safe, and come back in time for the real wedding; we would love to have you here for it!" They nodded to the princess and headed towards the gummi ship.

* * *

Sora sat in his room, leaning against the headboard of his bed. He could think about nothing except for what the Oracle told him.

"Excuse me," the boy spoke quietly. "My friend…?" The voice in his head did not respond. "Ventus? Are you there?"

" _I had a feeling you'd call me_." The voice spoke.

"So, you are Ven!"

Again, the voice was silent, until it let out a long sigh. " _Yeah… that's me_."

"B-but how is that possible!?" Sora ran a hand through his hair. "How are you inside me?"

" _That… that's a long story. I'll tell you later._ "

"Alright, but why didn't you say anything before?"

Ven did not speak for a time, but his voice soon came, quiet and sad. " _Because I don't know how to get back to my own body. I didn't want Aqua to know and to get her hopes up for nothing._ "

"Makes sense…" the boy began pacing, "but the Oracle said that we need to go to your body and then I should trust my heart."

" _I think she was talking to me too when she said that._ "

"I wouldn't doubt it."

"Ah-ha," Jiminy jumped up on the bed. "I had a feeling the Oracle was looking at you. So, Ventus' heart is inside you?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah, but I didn't know it was him, not until now. "

The cricket crossed his arms. "So, are you going to tell the others?"

Sora grinned. "I'd like to. Ven, is that alright with you?"

" _Yeah!_ " Ven's voice cheered, " _I mean, your heart is nice and all, but I miss my old body._ "

"Sounds good."

Both of them laughed as Jiminy leapt on Sora's shoulder, and the boy left his quarters and went to the cockpit. The others sat around, also musing on the words of the Oracle. "Guys! I know what to do!"

"What?"

"I know where Ven is!"

Aqua leapt to her feet. "Y-you do!? But how? Where is he?"

"Here." The boy laid a hand on his chest. "Somehow, Ven is inside me."

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Yes, NOW Ven's location has been revealed.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 **In the next few chapters, I'll be doing special devos based on the sermon series my pastor is doing. It's called "The Bible Doesn't Say That". I'm literally using his sermons for these devos.**

* * *

 **The Bible Doesn't Say That: The Lord Helps Those Who Help Themselves**

* * *

Today people have this idea that we are the center of everything. If something has to be done, we should be the ones to do it. Everyone should take care of themselves first before taking care of others.

Both Christians and non-Christians do this, not all of them but a good number of them.

People love to make plans that focus only on ourselves and then ask God to bless it afterward, even if it is something that is outside of God's plan or even if it is. Our decisions should not be based solely on what WE want.

Everything is not about ME, MYSELF, and I. We worry about OUR stuff. We want our money, our food, our clothes. And so often, we worry about our stuff and forget about God and what He wants.

In Matthew 6:25-33, Jesus says, " _Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?_ _And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?_ _And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,_ _yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these._ _But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?_ _Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'_ _For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all._ _But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you._ "

This is basically the opposite of "God helps those who help themselves"; this saying isn't even Christian; it became famous when Benjamin Franklin published in his "Farmer's Almanac".

In the scripture above, it covers things that we want and need in life. And many times we worry about these things. God really is asking, "Why?"

God will provide. He will meet the needs. Here's the gist of it, if you pursue God, your needs are met, if you pursue your needs it seems like they're not really met.

For example: if you pursue money, you never seem to have enough.

My pastor lives on barely enough to pay his bills and food, but somehow, every time, when he needs it most, the money shows up. And it is hard when money deadlines spring up and God is telling you to wait.

Christians, your relationship with God needs to be your top priority, or else you're going to have trouble.

Now people will say that God is their top priority, but really if you look at what they spend their time doing and spend their money on, you can see what their real priorities are.

And I will be honest with you. As I am writing this, I really am realizing that I myself need to work on making God my number one priority.

Sometimes we can think that He is the top priority, we can fool our minds into that, but if we step back and really look at what we are really pursuing, then we see the truth.

How much time do you spend with God? How much time do you spend reading your bible? How much time do you spend praying?

If you want to make something a priority, you have to not only remember it, but you have to work at doing it. Set an alarm to remember, if you have to.

And again, I am telling you this and telling it to myself as well. I need to work on this myself. I admit, I am not perfect and I struggle too. And so, we can take this journey together to make God top priority in our lives.


	6. Chapter 6: The Return

**Here we go, guys!**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: The Return**

* * *

Everyone in the gummi ship stared at Sora. Donald blinked. "Excuse me… what did you say?"

"You heard me." Sora smiled. "His heart is inside me. I don't know how or why, but it is."

Aqua shook her head. "Th-this is impossible! How can he be inside you? How do you know this? How long have you known?"

"Well, I've had the voice in my head for a few months, but he just told me he was Ven." He looked around at the skeptical glances. "And no, I'm not crazy?"

"I don't know…."

Aqua bit her lip. "Prove it. Tell me something that only Ven, Terra, or my master would know."

"Ok," Sora turned his eyes upwards. "You hear that? Got something?" For a moment, he didn't speak but nodded a little bit. "Alright then. Ven says that your full name is Aqua Bethany Maris and you're from a world called Hazy Hamlet(1)."

The Keyblade master stared at him. "I-I believe you. I never told anyone but those I lived with, where I came from." She ran to the pilot seat and quickly turned the gummi ship around.

"Whoa! Aqua, where are we going?"

"You know where, Mickey," Aqua was focused on driving. "We are going to where Ven is. We are going to bring back and wake him up."

Sora smiled. "You hear that, Ven?"

" _Yeah!_ " Ven's voice cheered. " _Well, I may not know how we're getting my heart back into my body, but we'll figure it out._ "

"Yeah, we will…"

* * *

"We're here." Aqua jumped up and left the ship. The others quickly followed her out onto a flat, gray pathway.

Riku and Lea gaped at what they saw. "No way!"

"Castle Oblivion!?"

Aqua cocked her head. "Wait, you know this place?"

"Uh, yeah!" Lea coughed. "Xehanort's Nobody had me case this place all the time. We kept it as a research base. I will say, it was a pain to try and get around there. You get lost so easy."

"That's because only I can navigate the castle since I made it."

"WHAT!?"

Riku pointed at the castle. " _You_ made _that_!?"

"Long story," she walked towards the castle. "By the way, Lea, why were you sent to case the castle?"

The pyro groaned. "To find this stupid chamber, that I couldn't find…" His eyes widened. "Wait, Is Ventus in the Chamber of Waking(2)?"

"How do you know that?"

"That's what I was looking for." He admitted.

Aqua's steps faltered. "So, Terra was right… Xehanort was trying to locate Ven(3)."

"Sorry, Aqua."

"It's alright," she smiled. "Let's just find him. Stay close to me or you'll get lost in the castle." She pushed the doors open and everyone's eyes met with a white hallway.

Mickey laughed. "Sure brings back memories, doesn't it Riku?"

"Yeah… no kidding."

Jiminy jumped up onto Sora's shoulder. "This place gives me a weird feeling. Riku, you said that Sora, Donald, Goofy, and I have been here before."

"I do have a feeling that we've been here before," Goofy mused.

Aqua kept walking, leaving the others behind. "Catch up or you'll get lost!" They all ran to catch up to her just as she opened the door to the next room.

Slowly, they made their way through the maze of corridors. While Lea and Riku looked around them, trying to recognize anything around them. After a long, silent walk, Aqua shoved open another set of doors. This hallway was drastically different from the others. Every hallway was lined with the same symbol Aqua had as a buckle on her outfit. They continued down the hallway until they came of one of the symbols, on their right, which had a slightly different color than the other symbols.

"Here." She summoned Master Keeper and held it towards the emblem. The wall split apart to reveal a small room with similar symbols all around, connected by chains. All chains converged in the middle of a room, underneath a chair; the chair had its back to the door. Aqua was the first around the chair, with the others following.

Sitting in the chair was a boy of about fifteen years old. Lea's eyes widened; not only did this boy look just like Roxas, but Lea remembered meeting this boy many years ago. Jiminy looked around at everyone's faces. "I know what a number of you are thinking... he looks just like Roxas." Everyone nodded.

"Ventus…" Aqua knelt before his sleeping form, smiling sadly as she touched his hand. "Sora, do you know what to do?"

"Well, not really. Ven, you have any ideas?"

The voice was silent. " _Well, I have an idea, but I don't know if it'll work. Oh, and Sora, there's something I need to tell you. If you release my heart, you… you might lose your Keyblade. So, I don't know if you want to…(4)_ "

"I don't care, Ven." Sora's mind raced at this news, but he had come too far to turn back. "What's your plan?"

" _Alright. Tell Aqua to move and then stand in front of my body._ "

"Got it. Aqua, would you mind moving, please?" She did so, stepping off to the side as Sora stepped up to Ven.

He stood there and stood there. Just as he was about to move Ventus' arm moved. It lifted and hovered in the air for a moment. In a flash of light, a Keyblade appeared, shooting a light directly into Sora's chest.

"Sora!"

Sora stood there, arms spread wide, as the light disappeared. Out of the boy's chest came a glowing orb which floated over to Ven's body and went inside his chest. Sora shuddered and fell backward; Riku leapt forward, catching his best friend.

"Riku, did it work?"

"See for yourself."

Ventus' body shifted slightly and his eyes slowly opened. He stretched and let out a long yawn before looking around. "Hey there, guys."

"Ven!" Aqua nearly tackled him, crying. "You're here!"

He smiled and hugged her. "Hey Aqua, I missed you."

"I missed you too…"

Aqua held him close. "I missed you too." They sat there for a long time before Aqua finally pulled away. "I just… can't believe it."

"Believe it!" Ventus pushed himself up to stand. As his feet hit the ground they buckled beneath him. Sora jumped forward, as did Goofy and Donald.

Kairi helped him back into his chair. "You ok?"

"I haven't used my legs in thirteen years," the boy chuckled. "I… might need some help for a bit."

Riku threw Ven's arm over his shoulder, helping him stand. "Let's go Ven. We'll get you to our ship."

"Wait, Riku." The blond boy looked at Sora. "Can you still do it?"

"Huh?"

Sora rubbed the back of his head. "Ven said that I might lose my Keyblade if I let his heart out. Let me check…" Holding out his hand, Sora waited and waited. Nothing happened. "Well, crap. Guess I don't have a Keyblade anymore."

"Sora…"

"What're you going to do?"

The boy shrugged. "I can use magic and maybe find another sword. I don't mind." He grinned happily. Everyone gave him a look of surprise.

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure guys." Sora grinned.

Ventus gave a soft smile. "You're something, Sora."

"He really is." Kairi smiled and hugged his arm. "Let's go."

* * *

Ven sat down on a bench, "I can feel my legs more. I should be able to stand in a little while." He looked back over at Sora. "Hey, you sure you're ok, I mean, with not having a Keyblade anymore?"

"I told you, I'll be fine."

Mickey sat down in the pilot seat. "Well, I say the first thank we should do is get you a weapon."

"Sasuke could help you." Lea waved a hand. "Unless you want to go to that world nearby."

"What world?"

Donald pulled up a screen. "Olympus Coliseum."

"Oh, that would be a great place to find a weapon." Sora gave a thumbs up. "But, how far is it?"

"Not too far, we should be there by morning."

Sora nodded. "Alright. I'm heading to bed. See you guys in the morning." The boy turned and went to his quarters.

"Dang…" Riku shook his head. "He's really disappointed."

"He doesn't seem that way."

Kairi looked over at Aqua. "He may look happy, but Riku and I know him so well. He's sad that he lost his Keyblade, but he'll just hide it."

"Yeah," Goofy nodded.

"I'm sorry," Ven's eyes turned downwards. "It's my fault."

"Don't blame yourself."

Riku gave a slight nod. "Ven, Sora knew and made his choice. He knew the consequences and decided. He'll be fine though; he's tough."

"Yeah…"

* * *

 _Sora's dreams spun a strange scenario as he slept._

 _He stood in a large field under a dark-blue sky, glittering with stars. A line of trees with dark wood and glittering silver leaves spread out to his right. All around him spread silver grass(5), that rose to Sora's knees._

 _"_ _What is this place?"_

 _He walked towards the tree line. Something inside him told him that's the way to go. Inside the woods, the leaves seemed to give off a light of their own. Through the trees, he could hear the quiet sounds of running water._

 _The stream he came upon glittered with the reflection of the sky and stars above. Under the water, he could see a wooden sword. As he stared down at it, a hand softly touched his shoulder. Normally, Sora would've jumped and turned around, but somehow a calmness covered him._

 _A voice, gentle and kind, spoke behind him. "Go ahead and pick it up. It'll help you."_

 _"_ _Who are you?"_

 _"_ _You'll find out soon." The hand moved off Sora's shoulder. "Go ahead and pick it up."_

 _For some reason, Sora felt like he could trust whoever this was. Slowly, he reached down and grabbed the wooden sword(6)…_

* * *

Riku walked down the hall towards his quarters, rubbing his eyes. "Gosh, I need to sleep…"

Suddenly, a light illuminated the hallway, spreading out from under Sora's door. The light became accompanied with a loud humming sound. All the others came out of their rooms. "Riku, what's going on?"

"I don't know." Lea and Riku grabbed the door to Sora's room and pulled it open.

Sora laid in bed, looking normal as ever, but from his right hand, came the brilliant light.

"What is that…?"

* * *

 **I finally finished it!**

 **Dang, there were a lot of characters introduced in this chapter, but I hope you liked it.**

 **Please Review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne, or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This is a world of my own creation

(2) Isa and Xemnas had Lea search

(3) Reference to what Terra said in BBS 0.2

(4) Sora only got the Keyblade because Ven's heart was inside it

(5) Recognize this place?

(6) Reference to when Sora lost his Keyblade in KH1

* * *

 _VA:_

 _Mysterious Voice- Alex Organ (Doranbolt/Mest Gryder, Kaku, Togusa)_

* * *

 **The Bible Doesn't Say that God Promised Us Financial Wealth**

Sometimes, we hear preachers (not all, but there are a good many) who say that if you give a certain amount of money, you'll get it back and then some. We get this idea that we should be receiving wealth if we are a Christian. That is not what God promised.

If this was true, then you would think that the people who served God at the risk of their own lives, or the people who wrote the bible, would be wealthy beyond belief. But Paul, who wrote 1/3 of the New Testament was anything but. In Philippians 4:10-20 Paul writes, " ** _0_** _I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity._ _ **11**_ _Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content._ _ **12**_ _I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need._ _ **13**_ _I can do all things through him who strengthens me._

 ** _14_** _Yet it was kind of you to share_ _[_ _f_ _]_ _my trouble._ _ **15**_ _And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only._ _ **16**_ _Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once and again._ _ **17**_ _Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit._ _[_ _g_ _]_ _ **18**_ _I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God._ _ **19**_ _And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus._ _ **20**_ _To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen."_

Does that sound like someone rolling in dough? Paul says he was content in his situation… look at his situation, would you be content? 2 Corinthians 11:16-33, " ** _16_** _I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little._ _ **17**_ _What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would_ _[_ _a_ _]_ _but as a fool._ _ **18**_ _Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast._ _ **19**_ _For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves!_ _ **20**_ _For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face._ _ **21**_ _To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!_

 _But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that._ _ **22**_ _Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I._ _ **23**_ _Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death._ _ **24**_ _Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one._ _ **25**_ _Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;_ _ **26**_ _on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;_ _ **27**_ _in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food,_ _[_ _b_ _]_ _in cold and exposure._ _ **28**_ _And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches._ _ **29**_ _Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?_

 ** _30_** _If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness._ _ **31**_ _The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying._ _ **32**_ _At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me,_ _ **33**_ _but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands._ "

Does he sound like he has money? Does he sound like he has an easy life? No! But he was content, he had peace, he had joy. Oh, and did I mention that Paul wrote this IN PRISON when he was AWAITING EXECUTION.

If Paul can be content in that situation, why can't we be content in what we have? Our society has a focus on money. We are always careful with our money, making sure that we have enough for food, clothes, and to live… we do need those things. God knows this. So, we don't have to be anxious about those things.

Jesus addressed this in Matthew 6:25-34, " ** _25_** _"_ _Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?_ ** _26_** _Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?_ ** _27_** _And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?_ ** _g_** ** _28_** _And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,_ ** _29_** _yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these._ ** _30_** _But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?_ ** _31_** _Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'_ ** _32_** _For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all._ ** _33_** _But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you._

 ** _34_** _"_ _Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble._ "

Now, the Bible does say that "give and you shall receive", but there is a heart to it. When we give, we cannot let money be our idol. Jesus said that we can't serve both God and money. Now, we can have money, I am not saying that rich people are evil or not going to heaven. It is what they are pursuing.

If you give money at church in order to get money, who are you serving? God or money?

I ask you to take a step back and look at who you serve. God or money?


	7. Chapter 7: Olympus Coliseum

**Here's a world from the original story, but I changed it to make it better.**

 **I hope you enjoy it!**

 **FYI,** **I published the first story leading up to my book series, on Kindle** **. It's called** ** _Wingsteel_** **; if you would like to read it, check Kindle.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Olympus Coliseum**

* * *

Sora awoke, blinking as he saw everyone standing around his bed. "Uuuhh, what's going on?"

"Sora, look at your hand."

The boy sat up, staring down at his right hand, which glowed brightly. "Wait… I know this feeling!" In an instant, a Keyblade appeared in his hand. "B-but I thought I lost the power…"

The Keyblade in his hand was not his old one. While it looked similar to Kingdom Key, the golden guard was more square-ish in shape, and the blade itself looked like Sora's crown necklace, with the bottom pointing inwards.

"It's a new Keyblade."

Standing up, Sora looked at the Keyblade. "It's weird… It feels like it belongs to me but at the same time, it feels like it doesn't. It's like… it belongs to someone else but they gave it to me as a gift. Its name is… Key to the Kingdom(1)."

"Aqua," Jiminy looked over at the older girl. "What's going on?"

The Keyblade Master stroked her chin. "I don't know… I mean I have an idea, but I'm not sure. Let me think on it…"

"What's to think about?" Donald squawked. "He lost his ability to use the Keyblade and now he has one again."

"Look, he never lost the ability to use it. That's not possible. He lost the Keyblade itself. Keyblades are fickle things who are very picky about who they choose. That Keyblade picked Ven, inside Sora. While Sora could use it, with Ven gone, it had no reason to stay."

Everyone stared at her. "How do you know that?"

"I just figured it out though due process." She admitted. "But how he got the Keyblade… I think it was through direct passage(2)."

"That's crazy," Ven gasped.

"What's direct passage?"

Ven crossed his arms. "Direct passage is when a Keyblade Master passes their Keyblade to another person: like Master Eraqus giving Aqua his Keyblade. But, Aqua why would you think that he got the Keyblade through direct passage?"

"The way he described the feeling of the Keyblade." She admitted. "I remember when I first got Master Keeper… it had a distinct feeling of belonging to me and to someone else at the same time. But, I do not know who could possibly have given it to Sora."

Sora looked at the Keyblade. "I don't know either, but the Keyblade feels like it's mine. So, I think it'll be alright. I don't need to know who gave it to me. I don't really care."

"Alright… if you insist." The boy smiled.

Riku yawned. "Well, it's morning anyway… I'll make some coffee for us before we head down to Olympus." He left with the others scattering out to different places.

Aqua followed Riku to the kitchen area. "I'll make some breakfast."

"Ok." The young man started the coffee maker. "So, are you worried about this Keyblade?"

"Not really," she admitted. "Just confused."

Jiminy hopped up onto the counter, pulling out his journal. "What did you mean when you said he couldn't lose the ability to wield the Keyblade?"

Aqua began cooking. "Well, the actual ability to use a Keyblade never leaves. Keyblades can reject people though. The Keyblade Sora had, chose Ven, that's the only reason why it stuck around. With Ven gone, it didn't care to stay. Those swords have a mind of their own, but Sora may have many Keychains for that Keyblade, but the blade itself is now gone."

"That sucks…"

"He doesn't seem to mind," the girl smiled. "Sora is resilient, and he has a Keyblade again."

"True…"

* * *

"Wow!" Aqua and Ven smiled at the sight of Olympus Coliseum. "This place hasn't changed much."

Mickey nodded. "Come on, let's get up to the coliseum."

As they went towards the hill, an armored figure was coming down towards them. He stopped and everyone could see him grinning under his helmet. "Aqua! Ven!" Tearing off his helmet, they could see a man with spiky black hair, grinning wildly.

"Zack!?"

The man ran up to them, hugging the two. "It's been years! Oh my gosh, you two look like you haven't aged a day."

"It's a long story…"

Ven gestured to the rest of the group. "Zack, this is Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey." He nodded to them.

"Dang." He looked over at Aqua. "I guess that I'm much too old to take you on a date now, and I haven't become a true hero yet." The girl blushed. "Actually… we're not that far apart in age."

Aqua shook her head. "Zack wait… I- I never… You assumed… I-I…" Her eyes turned to the others. "Help me out."

"No problem," Riku stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder before looking Zack in the eye. "Sorry, Zack, but Aqua is my girlfriend(3)."

"Oh… I didn't know. Sorry. I'm just… I'll go." The young man walked on. "It was good to see you again."

"Same to you."

As he left, Aqua sighed. "Thanks, Riku."

"No problem," he nodded. "I hope that wasn't too awkward."

"Much less awkward than trying to turn Zack down. But don't get me wrong; he's a nice guy, but he's just… forward."

"No kidding…"

They continued to walk along, and just as they were about to reach the coliseum, Mickey held up a hand. "Wait!"

"What is it?"

"There!" He pointed to their left where they could see the younger Xehanort standing beside Hades. Beside them stood three other figures, all in the black coats with the hoods covering their faces.

"What's Xehanort doing here?"

"Causing trouble…" Sora and the others prepared to attack, but Xehanort and the other three figures vanished into the darkness, with Hades going as well.

"Dang… they're gone."

Aqua stared at the spot where they had been. "I wonder who those other three were?"

"Don't know, but there's nothing we can do right now." Riku huffed. "Come on, let's go."

Upon reaching the coliseum, they were met with Hercules, Phil, and Pegasus arguing with Meg. "Meg, I don't think you should come. I know you'll be of help, but I can't risk you being in danger."

"I've told you before, I'm a big tough girl, I can tie my own sandals and everything."

Sora waited for a pause in the conversation before holding up a hand. "Hey, guys!"

"Sora!?" They all smiled at him, but soon Hercules and Phil noticed two particular faces in the group. "Wait… Ven!? Aqua!?"

"Good to see you again, you two."

The satyr laughed. "It's been too long! You two haven't changed a bit."

"We'll explain that another time." Ven put his hands behind his head. "Oh yeah, you guys don't know Kairi, Riku, and Mickey." The three-mentioned smiled. "So, what's going on?"

Phil sighed. "You guys ever heard of Themiscyra?" Everyone shook their heads. "The Amazons?" More shaking of the head. "Basically the Amazons are a bunch of warrior women who have sworn off men and live on an island called Themiscyra. Herc's been asked by a king named Eurystheus to get a belt from the Amazon queen: Hippolyta(4). Problem is, they don't allow men on the island and Herc is obviously, a man."

"That's why I want to help," Meg crossed her arms.

Aqua looked at the woman. "You're Meg, correct? Well, Hercules, if you're so worried about her, why don't Kairi and I go with her. We're both capable fighters and, most importantly for this mission, we're female."

"Yes, you are…" Suddenly Kairi found Phil beside her, looking up. "And just so you know, I'm a real man."

Kairi blushed but she didn't have to say anything before Sora stepped between her and Phil, giving the satyr a glare. The goat-man backed up. Hercules coughed. "Well, Zack is meeting us at the docks; he's getting us a ship. He'll be happy to see you two and meet the rest of you."

"We met."

"And I told him that I was Aqua's boyfriend so he would stop flirting with her." Riku shrugged.

Phil, Meg, and Hercules all chuckled. "Good thing too. When it comes to women, he's almost as bad as Phil…"

"Just less pervy…" Kairi muttered under her breath.

Hercules looked at Meg. "Well, as long as Kairi and Aqua go with you to Themiscyra, I guess it's alright. The rest of us will wait on the ship."

"Sounds good!"

They all went down to the ship, not noticing Hades watching from a distance, grinning.

* * *

"Wow! That island looks gorgeous!" Kairi sat with Aqua and Meg in the ship's rowboat.

"No kidding."

Sora leaned over the side of the ship. "Take care of yourselves. Be careful!"

"We will." Aqua took the oars and rowed the boat down to the shore.

The moment the three stepped off the boat, twenty female warriors surrounded them. A woman with dark skin and black hair, dressed in armor, approached them, sword in hand. "Speak quickly! Why have you come to Themiscyra?"

"We are here on behalf of the hero, Hercules. He is on that boat right off the shore."

The Amazonian glared at them. "Come with me." She led the three inland. They saw a beautiful society of white buildings with temples and just pristine, lovely buildings. All around them, the Amazon women stared at the three strangers; each woman looked like they could take Hercules in a fight.

As they entered a temple, a blonde woman, dressed in white, wearing a golden crown(5), stared down at them. "General Phillipus," the crowned woman barked, "Who are these strangers?"

"My queen," Phillipus bowed, "They came on a ship which is anchored offshore and they claim to have come on behalf of Hercules."

The queen looked down at them. "Why have you come here?"

"Queen Hippolyta, Hercules has been asked by a king to obtain a belt from you. He would have come to ask himself, but he wished to respect your tradition and culture and so he and our other male friends stayed behind on the ship, in order to not set foot on your shores." Aqua bowed with Kairi and Meg following suit.

Hippolyta raised an eyebrow and gave them a small smile. "So, the mighty Hercules is as kind and respectful as they say. And who are these other friends of yours?"

"The heroes Sora, Donald, and Goofy as well as some others who you would not know."

"And your names?"

Meg spoke first. "I am Megara, a friend of Hercules. These two are proud warriors from far away: Kairi and Aqua."

"I see," Hippolyta stood up. "I usually do not give favor to men, but Hercules is known for his kind heart and he has certainly shown that in his actions today. I will give you the belt, and I will come with you to the shore to speak with him."

"Thank you."

The doors burst open and an Amazonian with red hair ran in. "My queen!"

"What is it Antiope?"

Antiope looked angry, and she held her sword in hand. "A man is on our shore! He matches the description of the hero, Sora."

"What!?" Kairi jumped up. "Sora is on the ship. He knows your culture and he would not set foot on the shore."

"We saw him sneaking around the temples."

Aqua looked at Hippolyta. "Queen Hippolyta, please let us look into this. If Sora really is on the island, he'll trust us. Though, I doubt it's him."

"Very well. Phillipus, go with them. Antiope, gather our troops and assemble on the beach. Should you discover that it is your friend, then we will take justice on the men who disrespected us." Hippolyta and Antiope left with the rest of the Amazons, except for Phillipus.

"Well, let's go find 'Sora'."

* * *

Zack sat on the prow, arms crossed. His head shot up as a large group of women, all armed, came to the beach. "Hey, guys… something's up."

Everyone came over to him and saw the Amazonians. "Oh no…"

"Where are our friends!?"

The leader, who had to be the queen, stood tall. "They are unharmed. But I was ready to give you what you seek. However, my sister saw one of you on our island. Your friends are investigating the matter with one of my generals. If I find that one of you has disrespected our tradition, we will take vengeance."

"Herc, we need to get closer to talk with her," Ven whispered. "We can use my glider so we don't actually go on the shore." The hero nodded; Ventus summoned his glider, much to the surprise of the Amazons. He and Hercules slowly flew closer, hovering above the ground.

"Queen Hippolyta," the hero spoke calmly, "I am Hercules, son of Zeus. I want to tell you that all members of our party have remained on the boat for the entirety of our time here."

"Are you implying that one of my Amazonians is lying?"

He shook his head. "I am not. I believe that either she was mistaken or there is some foul play involved. Meg and the others will find out what happened. I wish to keep this as peaceful as possible."

"As do I…"

Kairi looked over at Aqua, concern written across her features. "Aqua, if it is Sora, do you think the new Keyblade has something to do with it?"

"No, I don't think so."

"There!" Phillipus pointed to a nearby temple, where Sora stood, looking inside.

Meg turned to them. "It certainly looks like him…"

Kairi closed her eyes. Since she and Sora shared a Paopu fruit, their minds and hearts were connected. " _Sora… can you hear me?_ "

" _Kairi? What is it?_ "

" _Where are you?_ "

Sora's voice paused. " _On the boat, where I'm supposed to be… oh, do you think I'm the one who they think is on the island?_ "

" _Sora, I'm looking right at you, or someone who looks like you, here on the island_."

" _Oh… well, crap. I'll tell you, it's not me._ "

" _I trust you. I'll figure this out. Thanks._ " She turned to the others. "I'll confront this guy and test him. Aqua, do you remember what Sora said his new Keyblade was named?" The older girl nodded. "Good." Kairi walked over to "Sora", smiling. "Hey there, Sora!"

The boy jumped. "Uh, oh… hi!"

"Sora, what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to explore the island." He smiled nervously.

The princess raised an eyebrow. "Oh? But you knew you weren't supposed to be here."

"Oh I'm… sorry."

"All is forgiven." The girl took his hand. "Oh, by the way, what's the name of your new Keyblade again?"

He averted his gaze. "Uhh, I… I forgot, sorry."

"You forgot? Oh, I see." Kairi grabbed "Sora's" wrist, twisting his arm behind his back. "You can't forget the name of your Keyblade. It's embedded in your mind! Now, who are you really!?"

The boy struggled, but Kairi kicked his legs out from under him, pinning him to the ground. Suddenly, the boy's legs separated from his top and began running away. "Oh my gosh!"

The bottom half suddenly turned into a red, fat creature with horns, and the top half which Kairi held turned into a skinny blue one(6). Phillipus drew her sword. "Demons from the Underworld!"

"Aqua, grab the other one!" Kairi grabbed the smaller demon by the neck as Aqua grabbed the other by the leg.

"Pain and Panic," Meg growled. "Hades must have sent them."

Phillipus glared at the demons. "We must bring them to Queen Hippolyta at once."

"Yes!"

The four women ran for the shore, where Hercules and Ven stood on the boy's glider, in front of Hippolyta. "And there are our ladies."

"Indeed…" The Amazonians parted for the four, as they carried Pain and Panic towards them.

"My queen," the general gestured to the demons. "These minions of Hades were impersonating one of the men in that boat." She looked up and saw Sora. "That's the one."

Kairi squeezed Panic's neck. "So, what was Hades planning?"

"There's no need for that." Standing behind them was Hades himself. "Hello there Hippolyta! It has been a long time; last I saw you, we sculpted this lovely statue(7)."

The god moved to take a step but froze as the Amazon queen rushed forward, putting the point of her sword on his throat. "Get out of here, Hades!"

"Oh, come on, my dear." The lord of the underworld lightly pushed the sword away. "I had this wonderful plan to get you to kill Jerkules and his annoying friends, but these two losers didn't leave fast enough!" Pain and Panic averted their gazes. "Well, c'est la vie. Looks like I'll have to resort to plan B." He snapped his fingers and a roar shook the earth.

Bursting through the trees came a creature with the head and body of a lion with the head of a snake and the head of a goat as well. Fire came shooting out of its mouth as it roared.

"A chimera (8)!"

Hippolyta turned to the boat. "Amazons! Kill the chimera!" The warriors charged, Kairi and Aqua joining them.

"Come on! We've got to help!" Zack drew his sword and tried to jump off the boat. Riku grabbed the back of his armor.

"We can't! We'll have to do something different."

Ven flew back over. "Zack, get on!"

"Zack and I will hit Hades, the rest of you cast magic or whatever you've got at Hades and the Chimera."

"Got it!"

Ven flew his glider towards Hades. As they flew by, Hercules landed a punch on the god's face. Hades shook off the punch. "Why you!?"

"Hey, Hades! Head's up!" looking up, Hades saw Zack jumping down on top of him, sword in hand. The warrior landed a strong blow on the lord of the dead.

Before Zack hit the ground of Themiscyra, Ven's glider flew by and Hercules grabbed his friend, pulling him back on the glider. "Nice one, Zack." The three turned around to see Hades get pummeled by spell after spell from Sora and the others.

Kairi and Aqua charged at the Chimera as the Amazons finished one wave of their attack. "Kairi, go for the legs!"

"Got it!" The princess lunged in, slashing at the monster's feet, dodging the teeth from the snake and lion heads. She cast Blizzardza, pinning its feet to the ground.

Aqua leapt up, slicing off the goat head. As the snakehead moved to breathe fire, the Keyblade master pulled herself onto the lion head before jabbing her sword into its head. As soon as it was distracted, Queen Hippolyta led her Amazons back in. The other women attacked the creature as Hippolyta sliced the snakehead in half.

The moment after the beast fell, the queen turned on Hades. "Now GET OFF MY ISLAND!" She ran at him, sword at the ready.

"Uh oh!" He vanished in a puff of black smoke. "Nice going, but there'll be more! Stay tuned!"

"Hades you coward…" Hercules huffed. As he moved his feet, he tripped and fell towards the ground. Ven and Zack quickly grabbed him, stopping his fall inches from the dirt of Themiscyra.

"That was a close one…"

* * *

Hippolyta stood on the deck of their ship with everyone in front of her. She bore a kind smile. "Hercules, I had heard about your kindness and your honor, same with your fellow hero Sora. When I heard that you wanted a belt of mine, I was skeptical, but I saw that what was said about you was true." She removed the golden belt from around her dress and handed it to Hercules. "Thank you for honoring my people and for helping to defeat Hades and the chimera."

Hercules took the belt and bowed his head. "Thank you, your majesty."

The queen smiled and bowed her head slightly before leaving the ship. Meg hooked arms with Hercules. "Aren't you glad you brought me?"

"How did you help again?" He grinned playfully. She slapped his arm, playfully before they both laughed. They turned to the others. "Thank you, guys. We probably couldn't have done this without you."

"It was no trouble… but I wish we could've asked Hades about what Xehanort was doing here." Sora sighed.

The others nodded. "Yeah."

"Well," Meg gave them a smile, "Well, if we hear anything at all, we'll let you know."

"Alright, have fun on your trip home!"

"We will."

* * *

Back on the gummi ship, Aqua watched Sora in the training room, using his new Keyblade. "How does it feel?"

"The Keyblade really feels like it belongs to me now." Sora smiled. "It's good to have one again." He attacked a training dummy, slicing through it.

"Well, I'll leave you to your training." She got up and left, shutting the door behind him.

Sora continued to hack and slash at the training dummies, still getting a feel for this new sword. After another hour, the boy was drenched in sweat. He laid down on his back, hands behind his head, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

In that middle-state between sleep and waking, he heard footsteps. His eyes opened slightly and he could not tell if he was dreaming or not.

Beside him stood a pair of sandaled feet with the legs surrounded by a long outfit, and the entire person seemed to glow. The person came closer and Sora could hear a voice, the same gentle voice from his dream the night before. "That's my Keyblade you know. Take good care of it, Sora…"

Sora blinked, sitting up and looking around. No one was there. The room was empty except for him. The boy looked down at his new Keyblade, which had appeared without him summoning it. "Was that all a dream…?"

* * *

 **Hercules' world is done, well the first visit is at least.**

 **I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Please Review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne, or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Let's see how many of you will try and find where this Keyblade has been used before *hint* check my Deviantart.

(2) Just a name I came up with for situations like the Master of Masters actually giving his Keyblade to Luxu or even Master Eraqus giving Aqua his Keyblade to become hers when he died.

(3) I do not ship RikuxAqua, but some people do, so here's a little shout-out for those people who do.

(4) This is based on one of the 12 Labors of Hercules. This particular Labor was referenced in the original movie by Phil.

(5) I am using the physical descriptions of all named Amazonians from the animated series "Justice League Unlimited".

(6) We saw Pain and Panic do this in the original movie with the two children and with the female Pegasus.

(7) In "Justice League" it is implied by Hades that he helped Hippolyta make the statue of Diana, who becomes Wonder Woman.

(8) The chimera is one the sibling of Cerberus in Greek Mythology, so I assumed Hades could control it too. 

* * *

**The Bible Doesn't Say that Men are Superior to Women**

Let me say first off, no this is NOT a feminist devo, this was my pastor's Mother's Day sermon (and my pastor is a dude)!

Sometimes people use the bible to say that women shouldn't do this or men are superior, but it doesn't. To understand this we need to look at context. Many times, not just with biblical things, people take one little verse/phrase/point and quote it out of context, which gives a completely different meaning to the statement.

This is the same with the bible verses surrounding women. The context could include the text around it or even the historical/cultural setting of the location where the passage is being written to. If you ignore those you will find the wrong points. And this is the same for many other things in the Bible and outside the Bible.

There are three main parts to this:

Number one: It's all Eve's Fault

Have you heard that all of mankind's problems were Eve's fault? We know the story, the serpent tempts Eve, Eve eats the fruit and then offers it to Adam. But, we miss the part in Genesis 3:6, " ** _6_** "

We get this mental picture of Eve and the serpent talking and then she goes to find Adam to offer him the fruit. He was standing there with her. He heard all of this too. And they didn't have television to distract him with a football game (it's a joke). Adam doesn't do anything in this situation until Eve offers him the fruit. He heard the snake and he also knew God's instructions regarding that specific tree; Eve knew that too.

In all honesty, it's both of their faults. Eve listened to the serpent and was deceived… but Adam was there too and he didn't say anything to try and stop her. And Adam does also blame her later when God is questioning them.

Number 2: Women submit to men

We hear this all the time and in some parts of society, it is more prevalent. Some people (and I have seen this) think that a man can hit his wife because she's supposed to submit to him anyway, and so it's ok to "put her in her place" when she steps out of line. NO!

That specific phrase actually isn't in the bible.

The word submit is used in certain places: Submit to God, submit to your leaders/authority (government and church, and no that does not mean you have to like them, you just have to obey the laws they put in place and treat them with RESPECT.), submit to your masters (yes, this is talking about slavery, but slavery at that time wasn't like what we think. It was basically servanthood, the master didn't own a person as property, and it was only for a certain period of time. It was used to pay back debts and people were freed during a specific year scot-free.).

Look at CONTEXT!

Now it does say that wives should submit to their husbands, but that's all people quote. There is more to that verse. Colossians 3:18-19, " ** _18_** _Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord._ ** _19_** _Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them._ " How many times do we hear verse 18 quoted? What about 19? Some people use verse 18 to justify harming their wives when they ignore verse 19.

And women do have to love their husbands and not be harsh with them either!

There's also the verse in Ephesians which says "wives submit to your husbands", but the chapter is actually broken up in that part. People ignore the verse before as if it is talking about another topic. Ephesians 5:21, " **21** _submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ._ " Submitting to one another… now submitting does not mean ruling! It means serving others, and not like a servant, but out of kindness, we serve each other! We submit to one another.

Number 3: Women should not speak in church or be in leadership

Again COOOOONNNNTEXT!

1 Corinthians 14: 34-35, " ** _34_** _the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak but should be in submission, as the Law also says._ ** _35_** _If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church._ "

Churches take this out of context all the time! This time, it is historical context!

In this situation, the church was in the city of Corinth, which had the Greek temple of Artemis in the city. This was the same church where Paul told the women to keep their heads covered. Why? Because the temple of Artemis used prostitutes to "worship" to the Greek goddess. Basically, Paul was telling them to set themselves apart from those women and not be like them.

Also, during that time period, men were the only ones educated in biblical studies. Men got the education while the women made clothes, cooked, etc. This was because they didn't have the tech and they had to divide up the duties. So, men went and got the education more than the women, now that doesn't mean it was fair, but that's just how it was in those times.

Corinth, being a Greek city, elevated the men in Greek terms. Men were seen as a superior; if a Greek man (in that time period) was to walk into a church and see a woman speaking, he would be greatly offended.

In the church, the women sat separately from the men, and since they didn't have much education, they would shout across the church to their husbands to ask what something meant. And more than one woman would do that at a time.

This is very disruptive. That's why Paul told the women to keep silent. They could ask their husbands questions when they got home so that they didn't cause chaos during church.

Now, again, this was not a feminist thing. This is a real thing that people use in life, and I'm trying to shed some light on it.

So, men are not superior to women… and no, women you are not superior to men.


	8. Chapter 8: Terrain of Thieves- Holland

**I hope you guys like this world. It was a pain to write, but I think it turned out alright.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Sly Cooper © to Sucker Punch, Sanzaru Games, and Sony!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Terrain of Thieves - Holland**

* * *

"I still want to know what Xehanort was doing with Hades." Jiminy sat on the dashboard of the gummi ship, finishing up his account of the last world's events. "If he has more vessels, that could spell trouble for us."

"I agree, but there's nothing we can do right now but search around for Xehanort's men," Aqua admitted, "and since we don't know where they went, we'll have to go from world to world, searching for them, or maybe they'll come find us."

Lea nodded. "We just came to a new world and I think it's a good place to start."

"Agreed. Let's go!"

* * *

"What the heck is going on!?"

Sora grinned and looked himself over as they stood in an alleyway. "It's like Pride Lands, but different."

"Gawrsh Sora, you guys look so different, while the king, Donald, and I didn't change at all."

Riku looked at himself and the others. "I don't know if I like this, but if the world needs us like this then… I guess we have to…"

"What am I anyway?"

Jiminy leapt upon the boy's shoulder, taking a look at him. "I think you're a raccoon, Sora(1)."

That he was. Sora still wore his clothes and stood on two legs, but he was now a brown raccoon. His striped tail flicked back and forth as he looked himself over more. The others had changed as well, except for Mickey, Donald, and Goofy: Kairi was a rabbit with white fur, Riku was a silver-furred wolf, Ven had turned into a falcon with brown and bronze-colored feathers, Aqua was now a panther with black fur and Lea…

"WHY!? My hair is spikey but it doesn't merit this!"

Everyone laughed as they saw the pyro. Kairi's rabbit ears flopped about as she laughed. "That's not manly looking at all, Lea."

"Shut up!" The pyro was a red dear with reddish-brown fur and two tall antlers sticking up from his head(2). "This is the worst!"

"I wouldn't go through any tall doors, Lea."

"Just leave me alone…"

Before any more teasing could ensue, police sirens filled the air. "What's going on?"

They all ran towards the end of the alleyway only to run into a tall figure. "Watch it!"

The figure in front of them was a gray raccoon dressed in blue with a blue hat, carrying a golden cane. Behind him came a large pink hippo, a purple koala, and a turtle in a wheelchair. The turtle gave the group a glare. "Come on Sly!"

"What's going on?" Sora looked at the three.

Suddenly a female fox, dressed in blue, carrying a pistol. "Freeze!"

"Unless you want to be arrested, come on!"

"But we're not with you," Lea dodged a blast from the fox's pistol. "Never mind! Lead the way!"

The group followed the raccoon, hippo, and turtle down to a van, where they all piled inside and the hippo climbed into the driver's seat and drove off at breakneck speed. As they drove, the turtle pushed past the group, pulling out a computer. "Murray, get us to the hideout, but first we need to drop off these guys."

"Uh, Bentley," the hippo named Murray pointed. "We've got those monsters ahead." Everyone looked through the windshield and saw a line of Large Body Heartless.

"We'll handle them!" Aqua opened the back doors of the van. "Turn the van around." The hippo did as she asked. The off-worlders leapt out, attacking the Heartless. The four in the van stared in awe.

"Bentley, I didn't think weapons worked on those things…"

"They don't."

The koala said something in a strange language only for Murray to nod. "Yeah, you're totally right, Master."

When the Heartless were gone, the raccoon motioned everyone back into the van. "You know, Bentley, I think."

"Sly, no!"

"Aw, come on Bentley. We can't fight those things if they're on Dr. M's island. We could use their help!"

The turtle groaned. "Whatever, fine." He glared at the group. "Let's find a hotel and we'll discuss our situation."

* * *

"So, who are you guys and where did Sly go?"

Bentley set up a laptop, sighing. "We're the Cooper Gang, one of Interpol's most wanted. We're thieves."

"Great," Aqua crossed her arms. "Just great."

"Don't worry fair maiden!" Murray came in, carrying a bowl of popcorn for everyone. "We're not bad guys."

"But, you're thieves."

The window opened and Sly slid inside. "Master thieves, actually. That means, we only steal from other thieves. Anyways…" he tossed a statue over to Bentley. "I think that'll sell well on theifnet."

"Is that why the police were chasing you?"

"We robbed a wealthy banker who was cheating non-profit organizations to keep his wealth. And I just dropped off some proof of his activities to the police."

Donald blinked. "You turned them in?"

"We can't stand those who hurt the innocent. We take them down." Murray punched his hand.

Sly perched on a chair. "And, we're planning on doing a big job. A guy named Dr. M is trying to steal my inheritance so we're gathering a group of master thieves to stop him. We were hoping you might help us since he has those weird monsters all over the island where he's set up."

"I don't see any reason why not," Lea shrugged, getting a glare from Aqua. "I mean, if what you said is true then you're not a bad guy, and there's the fact that that fox, cop, lady saw us with you."

"Yes, Carmelita will certainly be after you, but she'll have trouble finding you since you're not in any databases." The Guru said something that sounded confused. "Yes, Guru. I have searched every database, these guests of ours have nothing in any database and there is absolutely no information on them."

"That's great!" the raccoon cheered. "They're perfect."

Mickey held up a hand. "Uh, before you tell us any more, would you mind letting us all talk alone for a bit."

"Sure…" Bentley and the others went to the adjoining suite.

"So?"

"I don't like it." Aqua sighed.

Sora smiled. "I actually want to help. They don't seem that bad." Donald and Goofy went to say something, but the boy cut them off. "Guys, we've helped pirates before, thieves who only steal from bad guys is better."

"True."

"I guess we could help them," Kairi averted her eyes. "But I'm not stealing anything(3)."

"Alright."

Riku nodded. "I guess we're helping them, then."

"Yep."

* * *

"So, what do you want us to do?"

The turtle pushed his glasses up his nose. "Right now we're trying to recruit people to help us with the Dr. M job. We're in need of an RC specialist, so we're on our way to Holland to try and recruit a girl named Penelope. I've only dabbled in the art myself, so I found someone online. The only thing is, she won't join just unless we beat her boss, The Black Baron, in his yearly dogfighting tournament. That is where we're headed. How many of you know how to fly an aircraft?"

"Well, we all take turns flying a ship we own."

"Great," Bentley turned back to his computer. "That means Sly won't have to fly one against thirty. Would three of you mind flying and four of you act as the tail-gunner for the pilots?" The shook their heads. "Excellent. Murray and I will acquire the planes while Sly finds you pilot licenses."

"Alright…"

* * *

Four days later, as the group brought their stuff into the nice hotel in Kinderdijk(4), Holland they spotted the same fox police officer from before.

"Well, that's Carmelita, Sly's crush."

"Yep," Aqua sighed, "We'll just steer clear of her."

That night, before the first day of competition, everyone sat in the hotel room, waiting on what to do. After spending a few days with the thieves, they'd grown accustomed to the company. Even Aqua and Mickey admitted that the Cooper gang was not as bad as they'd originally suspected.

Sly put an arm around Sora and Kairi, grinning under his pilot costume. "You two ready to meet our competition?"

"Sure." Sora was one of the other pilots, with Kairi as his gunner. The three went out into the main area where they could see most of the other pilots.

The comlinks in their ears buzzed(5) and Bentley's nasally voice came through. " _If we're going to succeed in this year's ACES competition we'll need to learn who we're flying against_."

"Wait," Kairi asked, "they keep the flight roster a secret?"

" _Correct, in years past competitors would go out at night and sabotage each other's planes in preparation for the next day's dogfight._ "

"Makes sense. Keeping it a secret will prevent teams from knowing who to mess with."

" _Precisely. Look, guys, you're good pilots but we've only got four planes… and you'll be up there against dozens of bogeys._ "

"Those are some pretty slim odds," Sora admitted.

Sly nodded. "True, but I'm always up for some sabotage.'

"You can leave me out of that," Kairi quipped.

" _Don't worry, Kairi, I'll need some backup here keeping everything flowing smoothly. Now the roster is kept secret from the pilots but not from the event staff._ "

Sly's ears twitched at that. "Do we have a mole on the inside?"

" _Our 'friend' Dimitri has been hired to give color commentary during the dogfights… He'll know where the roster's hidden. Scout him out, but be careful. If you start a fight with the other pilots, we'll be kicked out of the competition._ "

"Dimitri?"

Sly pointed to a purple lizard behind the bar. Kairi's mouth fell open. "Ew! That is the most disgusting outfit I've ever seen! I mean who buys a mustard-yellow suit?"

"Yes, his suit sucks, but don't tell him that." The thief chuckled. "Last time I did that, he tried to kill me, literally. Now, I'll talk to Dimitri, Kairi would you mind joining me; Sora, why don't you and Riku head out and scout around town?"

"Got it!" The boy turned around and went back into the room as Kairi and Sly went downstairs.

"Sly, why'd you have me come along?"

The raccoon smiled. "Well, for two reasons. One, Bentley says I look shifty by myself, so coming with a girl makes me look less conspicuous, and if you're sticking around the hotel, you'll be seen by everyone, so we want you to make an appearance too."

"Makes sense," the girl admitted but tensed as they approached Dimitri.

Sly stepped in front of her when they reached the purple iguana. "Dimitri, funny seeing you here. Never pegged you as a flyboy."

"Like a dance floor with many lights, I have many profiles, dig? Don't even try to understand the silky enigma of Dimitri." The iguana grinned.

Kairi turned away, covering her mouth and nose from the scent of the alcohol on the lizard's breath and the secondhand smoke from his cigar. Luckily, he didn't notice her. Sly continued to talk, to keep Dimitri's attention. "Bentley seemed to think you might have a copy of the ACES flight line-up, that true?"

"And why should I talk to a two-bit, rooty-poot, cracker-box like you? Question mark in bold! Why!?" This guy's strange speech was not improving Kairi's opinion of him.

Sly didn't seem phased by his attitude. "We both know you're going to tell me, you wouldn't have bothered talking to me at all if you didn't want to talk. So, spill it."

"I know," the lizard caved in, "but to talk is like sitting on electric chair. The Baron has eyes, eyes and ears, ears and fists! Dimitri will be discovered and the jig is pinched!"

The thief grinned. "Come on now Dimitri, a man like you can deal with this Black Baron. You've got the best fashion sense of anyone I know."

Kairi took another look at the ugly suit before nearly gagging. Dimitri however, became suddenly bold. "Le Fashion- style? Y-you're right! If I can out dress him I can certainly outsmart him. All is told through clothes."

Kairi had enough. As the two worked out their agreement, she moved around the room, going upstairs to look down on everyone. Her eyes caught a glimpse of someone in a long black coat leaving the hotel. Slowly, she slipped along the balcony, towards the stairs.

"Hey, watch it toots!" A giant bulldog pushed past her; the girl continued walking until he grabbed her arm. "What's the hurry? Don't you want to talk to a real man like me?" He turned her around with a hand bigger than his own head. "The name's Muggshot. What's yours, sweetie?"

The girl ducked under his arm and was about to talk when he held up a hand. "Tell me later, gorgeous. The Baron's here."

A dog with an extremely large handlebar mustache lumbered into the room. Kairi took this moment to move further away from Muggshot before the competition owner began speaking. "I bid you all a most flamboyant welcome my esteemed comrades of the skies. Welcome, welcome to another year of the ACES competition. We've got teams here from across the globe. Not the least of which is last year's deadly runner-up, Team Muggshot."

"This time we're gonna drill you jokers fulla holes!"

"Now we all know that in years past," the Baron continued, "some teams have engaged in a little good-natured late night hi-jinx."

"Like when Team Canada stole Ecuador's parachutes!"

"Or when Team Iceland sawed the landing gear off Korea's planes!"

"Or when Portugal put rat poison in Team Muggshot's coffee machine!"

The Baron coughed. "Yes, yes, that was all so VERY funny. But no more! You know the rules, no one, absolutely NO ONE is to leave the hotel after sunset. If my guards catch you outside you will be beaten to within an inch of your life. No exceptions! This WILL be a fair competition!"

"Same as last year and the year before… I've got the scars to prove it!"

All the pilots laughed before the Black Baron continued. "I bid you an exuberant and exaggerated farewell pilots. Tonight, sleep like geese and tomorrow, soar like eagles!" He laughed before lumbering away.

The moment he was gone, Kairi dashed across the lobby and into the hotel room. "Did you guys hear all that?"

"We did." Goofy pointed to the window. "Sora and Riku are already outside, looking around. We told them to be careful."

"Good."

* * *

Sora listened through the comlink to everything. He'd seen the guards on the rooftops and the ones with flashlights patrolling below. He'd scouted around and now sat upon a windmill, watching a giant wolf prowl around and attack guards; he'd seen the police officer, Carmelita, attack numerous guards.

"She's crazy…"

Leaning back, Sora listened as Bentley and Kairi organized the sabotage plan. By the sound of things, Riku was still patrolling too. Suddenly, he spotted something moving below, in the shadows. It looked like a person in a black coat. As he watched, a second figure appeared and then a third. He wondered if these three were the same three they'd seen at Olympus.

He climbed down the windmill and moved towards the three. He couldn't see their faces, but one had a slenderer build, like that of a woman. He walked closer to them, ready to summon his Keyblade at any moment. "Who are you?"

The three looked at him, with the two male figures stepping in front of the female. They held out their hands and swords of darkness appeared, ready to fight.

Sora summoned Key to the Kingdom but didn't move to attack. "Wait, I just want to talk."

The female put a hand on the shoulder of one of the men. The other man didn't pause, but charged forward, clashing swords with Sora.

As Sora struggled against the man, he could see under the hood. Due to the world, he saw a black-furred clouded leopard with gray spots. A scar ran across his right cheek(6).

"Why won't you speak to me?"

The leopard hacked at Sora with precise and quick movements. The boy did nothing but block the quick and strong attacks.

" _Sora? You there?_ " Bentley's voice buzzed in his comlink. " _We need you to get ready for the competition._ "

"Kinda… busy…!"

" _We need you!_ "

"Fine!" He shoved his attacker away and ran. The three figured didn't follow.

* * *

Riku stood, walking around the top of the Baron's fortress. "Everything looks quiet."

"Yeah, I've kept it that way."

The young man turned suddenly, hearing a voice that nearly mirrored his own. "Huh?"

A figure in a black cloak strode towards him, but the person was small. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Throwing off the hood, the figure appeared to be a wolf on this world, and a smaller copy of Riku.

"You!? Even in that form, I know who you are."

"Oh?"

"You're the copy of me from Castle Oblivion," Riku summoned his keyblade as his double summoned Soul Eater. "I always had a feeling you'd return… but I didn't think we'd meet like this again." He could see the boy's golden eyes glowing in the darkness. "Xehanort did this, didn't he?"

"He made me a promise… now, where is Naminé?"

Riku cocked his head. "Naminé? She's inside Kairi. Why do you want her?"

"She's the only one who can bring me from your shadow." The copy looked away. "She can give me new memories so that I can forget what I was. I want to forget you and what I am… even the name Braig gave me shows that I'm nothing more than your replica: Repliku(7). And if Naminé isn't here, the only way to be free of you is to kill you."

Lowering his weapon, the older boy's gaze softened. "You just want a new life… There's no crime in that. If you want, just go. If you don't want to look like me, dye your hair. There are ways without killing me or helping Xehanort. What promise did he make you? That he would bring Naminé back to help you? Or that he would kill me?" The boy looked away. "I guess he did… So, why are you here? Did you just want to talk?"

"I don't have to tell you anything."

" _Riku, you there?_ "

He sighed. "Bentley now's not the time."

" _It's nearly time for the competition. We need you!_ "

"Fine, whatever." Riku shook his head. "Listen, pal. We'll have to finish this later. I've got to go, but if you cause trouble on behalf of Xehanort, I'll take you down." He turned away and headed for the Cooper gang hanger. Repliku didn't follow.

* * *

"Kairi, how are the security systems looking?"

The girl looked up from the computer screen. "Not bad. They're almost fully set up."

"Good," Bently wheeled over to the hanger doors where Murray, Goofy, Lea, and Ven were coming inside. "There you are. How'd the sabotage go?"

"Great. Anything else you need?"

The turtle nodded. "Kairi and I have been working to get our hanger security devices online and they're almost operational. Unfortunately, my internet pal Penelope heard a rumor that a rival air team might be stopping by to do mischief to our planes."

"That's just great…"

"If you four could stand watch while Kairi and I finish getting the systems online, that would be great." The turtle turned his wheelchair around and rolled back to the control room.

Murray flexed excitedly. "Fear not brainiac chum, you'll be safe while my fists are on duty!"

They didn't have to wait long. Moments later, two large purple hands pushed the hanger doors apart. Muggshot's ugly mug appeared, bearing a toothy grin. "Greetings Trog-o-lid-ites! Didn't think I forgot about Mesa City did ya? I figure you jerks let me smash up your aero-plane and we're even."

"Murray, you know this guy?"

"Tell ya later, pal." The hippo glared at the giant bulldog. "You and what army, dumb-guy?"

"Army? O-oh yeah. Ok boys, I paid you off good enough, time to crack some skulls." Numerous guards and some Heartless ran inside.

The group began fighting with Lea and Murray focusing on Muggshot himself. Lea could hurt him with fire, and Murry slammed a large metal crane into the bulldog.

The dog soon groaned, gripping his gut. "Oh! Right in the solar plex-E-is! Don't think this is over, meatballs. Ya' not untouchable, this is just the beginning of a really bad day." He lumbered away.

"Yes!"

Kairi clicked the intercom on. " _Muggshot wasn't making idle threats. We're reading multiple hostiles moving through the sewers toward us_."

Sora, Riku, and the rest of the group came into the hanger. "What's up?"

"Trouble."

" _Fortunately,_ " Bentley continued, " _My security devices are almost online. I'll just have time for a quick test. If any of those guys get past my traps or some of those Heartless appear, you guys will have to protect our planes._ "

Kairi took one set of controls for the security while Bentley took the other. As some of the guards began coming towards them, they activated the systems. Heartless appeared inside the hanger, but the others took care of them.

"Kairi, have the others get ready for the competition."

"But there are more guards incoming." The bunny shook her head. "I have to help."

Bentley turned to her. "I'll ask Penelope for help. You guys get ready."

"Alright." The girl headed to the others. "Bentley says we should get ready to fly."

Everyone nodded and prepared for the contest. Riku looked over at the others. "Guys, we need to keep a close eye out. Xehanort has sent some people here; I don't know what their exact purpose is. One of the guys here is a copy of myself, just younger."

"Wait," Lea cocked his head. "You don't mean that replica that Vexen created in Castle Oblivion?"

"Yep. Xehanort brought him back and promised him he could have a life of his own if he helps."

Sora sighed. "I met three people working for him too. I think they're the three we saw at Olympus; two are guys and one's a girl."

"We can worry about that later," Mickey went over to his plane.

"Yeah…"

* * *

Sora flew his plane around. "Kairi, you ok back there?"

"Scared of getting shot down, but other than that, good."

The other planes got into the air: Mickey piloting with Ven as the gunner, Riku piloting with Donald as a gunner, and Sly flying with Aqua as a gunner.

The night before, Bentley got a hold of the flight roster and knew that their team was fighting against teams Iceland and Belgium. He'd had the others break Belgium's prize plane and frame Iceland for it, and they stole Iceland's prized ice sculpture and framed Belgium. This was so the two teams would be after each other and not after the four Cooper planes.

Once they were in the air, the fight began. They all shot at their opponents. With the other two teams at each other's throats, the four planes only had to pick off the leftover pilots which made it easy to claim victory.

* * *

They all sat in the hanger, celebrating their victory as Bentley sat up an overhead projector.

He turned the lights off and began to speak, cycling through photographs as he did so. "Thanks to your flying guys, we're officially in the ACES finals! Our opponents: Team Muggshot and Team Black Baron. The rules in the finals are a bit different than normal. Whoever takes out the defending champ gets the title. You hear that? It's all about taking down the Baron. Our only real competition will be Muggshot himself. We need to remove him from the competition. Here's the plan: one of us will challenge him to a fist fight out in the town square; Sly and Sora, you find and lure Inspector Fox to the same place. When the two meet the sparks are sure to fly! With some luck, the big guy will get carted off to jail and we'll have clear skies for the finals. However, the Baron won't be so easy to deal with. He commands an enormous team of fliers and has been known to bring in a squad of blimp gunships when things look grim…"

"That's totally cheating!" Donald squawked.

"Yes, it is," the turtle continued, "But the answer to our problem isn't obvious, but it is potent. Behold…"

"Yeah, yeah!" Lea stood up. "Let's do this. You always give us the rundown when we do the mission, so we don't need this now. Let's get going!"

Bentley stared at the pyro, eyebrow twitching out of annoyance. "Fine… then we'll start with your job. Sly, Sora you two go find Inspector Fox. Lea, since you're so obviously obnoxious, you get to go start a fight with Muggshot."

"Dang it…"

"That's what you get," Kairi laughed.

"You're going too, Kairi."

The girl paused. "What? Why do I have to go with him?"

"Actually," the turtle rolled over behind his laptop, "You're going in first. Muggshot, despite your alliance, seems to like you. And since he doesn't know Lea well enough to hate him, we'll have to make him hate Lea… which shouldn't be too hard. You'll go downstairs and Muggshot is sure to come over to you. Now, I know you could take him in a fight, but we want Lea to make him mad, so you'll just have to play the damsel in distress. After he comes to you, Lea just has to butt in; that should work well."

"I don't like this," Sora looked at Kairi. "If you don't want to do it…"

"I'll do it. I'll be fine." She gave a smile before heading for the lobby.

Bentley looked over at the two raccoons. "I'll make this quick. You two get her to chase you, Sly shouldn't have a problem, so Sora should pose as Sly's cousin and the newest member of the Cooper Gang. She'll chase after you then. But don't get her to chase you until I tell you to."

"Sounds like a plan," the master thief grinned. "Let's go, Sora. Time to play tag with a cop." The two jumped out the window.

* * *

Kairi sat at a table, staring at the tablecloth as Muggshot sat next to her. "Heya toots!"

"Go away…"

"Aw, that's no way to talk to a gentleman."

She gave him a glare out of the corner of her eye. "A 'gentleman' wouldn't try and destroy my team's airplanes."

"Aw, you're going to let that get in the way of…"

"Excuse me." There stood Lea, looking… not very intimidating since he was a deer. "Leave her alone."

Muggshot obviously recognized him from the night before. "Aww… Beat it, antlers. The Black Baron's been giving me the grill since that 'event' in yer hanger."

"I don't care about that, but that girl happens to be a good friend of mine, and she obviously doesn't want you around. And if you don't leave, I'll have to make you. Maybe a good, old-fashioned fist-fight will help you get out that frustration and make you listen better since your ears don't seem to be working." Lea grinned. "What'dya say? Out in the square in five minutes?"

Kairi slipped to Lea's side as the bulldog growled. "No way, I'm being watched here…"

Lea's grin fell for a second before it morphed into a sinister smirk. "Yeah, probably best. You couldn't beat me anyways. I mean, I'm a member of the Cooper Gang, and they told me that you used to be an enemy of theirs… and man, they kicked your butt so badly. No way you could beat any member of the Cooper Gang."

"I could whip your whole gang with one arm if you jerks would sit still!" Muggshot flexed his huge arms. "Look at these arms. I'm unstoppable!"

Kairi looked at Lea and saw him take on a sassier expression. "Oh reeeeeaally? I mean, there's no way you could beat us if you can't even understand what I'm saying. You're too stupid."

"Listen punk! If ya don't have nothing nice to say, shut up!" Lea grinned and kept quiet. "Oh… I get it! Ya don't have nothin' nice to say, so you're keeping quiet. Real cute!" Again, Lea kept quiet; the dog's face fell a little and he sounded hurt. "You really got nothin' nice to say…? That's cold…"

Now, Lea glanced over at Kairi. The girl shook her head; she knew that look. This was going to end badly… The pyro looked Muggshot square in the eyes. "Oh, and by the way… your mother was a broken-down tub of junk with more gentlemen callers than the operator."

"NOBODY TALKS THAT WAY ABOUT MY MOTHER! NOBODY! Ok, antler-sproutin' twig, looks like I'm gonna snap you in half!"

"Wanna make good on that threat, tubby? Town square… five minutes. Don't be late." The pyro threw an arm around Kairi's shoulders and swaggered away to the hotel room.

"You enjoyed that waaaaay too much, Lea."

"Oh, you know it!"

* * *

"Time to go, Sora." Sly rubbed his hands together. "This is going to be great!"

"Says you!" The boy ran ahead, knowing right where Inspector Fox was. He dropped down in front of her, much to Carmelita's surprise. "Uh, hi. We've never met… well, you saw me in that alley not long ago, but I never got to introduce myself. I'm Sora Coop…"

"Cooper!"

"Yeah, hi. I'm new."

She raised an eyebrow, leveling her shock pistol at his chest. "Well then, Sora. Why don't you and I get to know each other in an interrogation cell?"

"Uhhh, no thanks."

Sly dropped down beside Sora. "Hey, Carmelita! Still looking for a date to the prom? My cousin and I are available!"

The two turned and ran as she spat. "Hold still and I'll pin the corsage on you!"

"She's ticked!"

"Yep! What a sweetheart!"

The two raccoons ran, with the fox on their tails, into the town square, right as Muggshot came in. Sora and Sly jumped onto a roof and down the other side, out of sight. They slipped back to the hotel and stood on the balcony, watching with the others.

"Here it comes!"

Muggshot quickly spotted Inspector Fox. "HEY! You're that cop hag that busted me back in Mesa City!"

"Muggshot, alias "Two-Gun Tony", also known as "Meat-Head" Muggshot. Seven-foot-three inches, three hundred and twenty-four pounds, wanted in seven countries with thirteen outstanding warrants for your arrest. And yes, I'm that 'cop hag' that put you away back in Mesa."

From there on, there was nothing but sparks. Soon the giant bulldog lay on the ground. "Alright, show's over. Let's get back to work."

* * *

"Bentley's nuts." Aqua shook her head. She, Mickey, and Riku watched as the turtle snuck up on a giant wolf to try and drug it so that the Guru could hypnotize it and ride it to kill some of the guards.

"Yes, he is. He's a genius, but he's nuts."

The mouse king looked around. "Huh! Look!" He pointed to where four cloaked figures stood.

"The shortest one is my double," Riku's eyes focused on said double. "He goes by the name, Repliku. Let me talk to him."

The other nodded before they went towards the four. Instantly Repliku looked over at them. "You again…"

"Yes, us."

"Go, take them out," the Xehanort-controlled boy waved his hand. The other three charged forward; Riku slipped past, facing off with his double

"You don't have to do this. We can help you."

"I disobeyed before… I spoke to you. No more…."

Riku could see the boy's eyes were glowing the deep gold color. "You had some sort of free will before. Xehanort took it from you."

The boy merely stared into the eyes of his older copy. "Xemanak, Irxim, Omaxaty kill them.(8)" The female figure turned around, casting a barrier spell between Repliku and the others.

Aqua and Mickey were clashing with the two swordsmen, while the woman was casting spells at the two, distracting them from their fight. Riku grabbed the woman's arms. "If you're going to fight, fight fair."

Suddenly, the smaller of the two men shoved Aqua away and turned on Riku. He knocked the older boy away from the woman. Riku and Aqua watched as the man put the woman behind him.

"He's protecting her…"

The man quickly grabbed his fellow warrior before the three vanished into a dark corridor.

"Did you see that, Mickey?"

"Yeah," the king nodded. "When you went after the woman, that one guy went after you and then left, to make sure that she wasn't attacked."

"I get the feeling, they're possessed, like Repliku, Terra, and Isa are. They have some semblance of their old selves; I guess the man and woman knew one another."

"Guess so…"

Aqua dismissed her Keyblade. "We better go tell the oth..." A loud crash filled the air as the blades of one windmill went flying like a shuriken, across the land. "Bentley!"

"He's going to kill us…"

* * *

Sora and the others stood in the hanger, suiting up for the final round of the competition. They could hear the planes of Iceland and Belgium fighting it out in the loser bracket.

"You guys ready for this?" Sly wrapped a scarf around his neck, grinning excitedly.

"Sure…" They were ready, but after what Riku, Mickey, and Aqua told them about Repliku and the other three, their minds were distracted.

"Look, guys, you can focus on this Xehanort guy after the finals. You need to focus."

"You're right…"

Everyone got into their planes as the match for the loser bracket ended. They all got into the air and the final round began.

Most of the others focused on the other pilots while Sora and Sly focused on the Baron himself. When the Baron's plane was ready to fall, he called in the gunship blimps, but Bentley used the "windmill shurikens" to bring them down.

Just when it seemed like they would win, the Baron summoned a jumbo plane to him. He jumped off and onto the wing of said plane.

"Aqua, take the controls!" Sly leapt out of the plane as Aqua climbed up to the controls.

"We have to hel…" A roar shook the skies as a giant Heartless, which looked like a much larger version of an Aeroplane Heartless(9).

"Well, that's just great…"

Down below, Donald and Goofy leapt up on a roof below, with Bentley, Guru, and Murray. The Heartless began dropping other Heartless out of the plane.

"Crap!" Sora turned his plane around. "Kairi, can you stand up and hit it with your Keyblade?"

She nodded. "I think so." The girl wrapped her seatbelt around her left arm as she stood up. They flew by the Heartless and she leaned off the side, slashing at it. The others took her idea and copied it, with those in the pilot's seat, casting spells at the Heartless. Ven took to his Glider and got even closer.

The Jumbo Jet Heartless fired bullets of darkness at them, making it harder to get in close. From the ground, Goofy was able to launch the Guru into the air, where he used his Aboriginal magic to slow the monster down my manipulating its empty mind. Bentley threw bombs at it while Donald cast spell after spell.

Just as Sly knocked the Black Baron down the Heartless screeched and dissipated into the air, with a heart floating away. "We did it!"

Everyone landed the ship to see Sly standing with the Black Baron… who didn't have a head, but they could see someone else's head. Now they could see, as the person shed their Black Baron costume. It was a female mouse with glasses, wearing overalls.

"Is that, Penelope?"

"The chick we came here for?"

Sly waved them all over. "Guess what guys! Penelope was the Black Baron the whole time!"

The mouse shyly rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah… I was."

Suddenly, her Black Baron costume lit up. "Whoa! What's going on?"

"I'll handle it." Sora held out his Keyblade, unlocking the Keyhole before them. "Looks like we have to go…"

Sly's face fell. "You do?"

"We'll come back! When you're ready to take down Dr. M, we'll be here!"

The raccoon smiled again, as did the others in the gang. "We'll be waiting."

"Here take this," Bentley handed them one of their binocular communication devices, called a binocucom. "I hope it works wherever you go."

"Thank you."

* * *

"I'M SO HAPPY! I DON'T HAVE ANTLERS ANYMORE!" Lea laid back in a chair, grinning wildly.

Kairi laughed. "You really hated those things, didn't you?"

"Absolutely!"

Sora laughed as he sat in the pilot seat. "So, working with master thieves wasn't that bad, was it?"

"I guess not," Aqua shrugged.

"Let's just go to another world. Maybe we can find some more of Xehanort's men… and we need to find out who those three with Repliku were. He called them Xemanak, Irxim, and Omaxaty."

"It saddens me that people are suffering at Xehanort's hands like that." Kairi wrapped her arms around herself. "Riku's double, Isa, and those three… we have to do something."

"We will!"

"Huh…" Donald squawked. "What's that!?" The computer screen at the front of the ship buzzed and turned yellow. A single eye appeared.

"Wholly cow!"

"Well, well, well… what do we have here? Please, why don't you come JOIN US!" The ship shuddered and the computer began to go haywire.

"What's going on!?"

Light filled the ship as the computer teleported each one of them to separate places on the world below.

* * *

Kairi woke up in the middle of a forest under the orange twilit sky. "Where am I?" She looked around and found herself completely alone. Nearby, she could hear the sounds of sobbing. Slowly, the princess stood up and moved towards the crying.

Under a tree sat a little girl, with brown hair, pulled back by a pink headband. She wore a pink sweater with a shooting star on it. In front of her was a man in a gray suit. The girl was about to hand the man what looked like a snow globe filled with a strange gooey-looking substance.

Kairi felt an uneasiness in her heart about this man, so she went over just as the girl handed it to him. "Hey!"

"Huh? Who are you?" Asked the girl.

"My name's Kairi."

"Hi… I'm Mable." The girl cocked her head. "What are you doing here?"

Kairi turned to the man. "I'll explain later. Who are you and what do you want?"

"He said he could make summer last forever."

The man merely smirked before dropping the object Mable gave to him. "Oops!"

"What!?"

The man's voice changed to one, much higher in pitch and more psychotic and began to laugh. He removed the goggles from over his eyes to reveal yellow eyes with slit pupils. Mable shook her head. "No! Oh no!"

"WHO ARE YOU!?" The Princess of Heart summoned her Keyblade and moved to attack.

The man snapped his finger and both girls suddenly felt a heaviness cloud their minds as they both fell to the ground, in a deep slumber. The last thing Kairi heard was the same voice from the ship. "Welcome to my world, Keybearer…"

* * *

 **I think that set up the next world quite nicely…**

 **I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Please Review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne, or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Being from an island world, I don't think he would've seen a raccoon before.

(2) I love giving Lea stupid/funny forms… be prepared for many more to come.

(3) Princess of Heart. She can't really do anything bad.

(4) The game put this as the city where this all takes place.

(5) I know the comlinks were introduced in game 4, but it works better for this situation.

(6) If you've figured out who this is… DON'T SAY ANYTHING.

(7) I chose to use this because the fan-name for him is perfect.

(8) Again, if you know, say nothing.

(9) Think the plane Heartless from KH2, introduced in Timeless River. 

* * *

**The Bible Doesn't Say That: Do not Judge Others**

We've noticed that there are numerous things that people think the Bible says when it doesn't. This particular saying is one we hear ALL THE TIME.

People, Christians, and non-Christians, have said: "Don't Judge". We're going to look into what the Bible really says about that.

Matthew 7:1-6, " _Judge not, that you be not judged._ _ **2**_ _For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure, you use it will be measured to you._ _ **3**_ _Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?_ _ **4**_ _Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?_ _ **5**_ _You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye._

 ** _6_** _"_ _Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you."_

Again, we hear this all the time. People often will say that Christians are too judgmental. They use the verse I quoted above. So, we shouldn't be judging anyone?

That's not what Jesus means. He means the attitude in how you treat other people.

Did you know that you can judge something without being judgmental? It's all in your attitude. You can disagree with something and say that it's not right, without being mean. You will have to make judgments somewhere: stealing is wrong and if you steal, you did wrong. That is a judgment.

Sometimes people are so quick to judge others but not themselves. If someone says, "don't judge" in the way we hear it, isn't that person being judgmental too? Being intolerant of the ones they say should be tolerant.

That is what Jesus is talking about. In laymen's terms "if you're acting like a mean jerk, people will treat you like a mean jerk". This goes for Christians and non-Christians.

But is Jesus saying we shouldn't make any sort of judgments? That would be ridiculous. We can make judgments about what's right or wrong, but our attitude needs to be in the right place. And we need to show these judgments with love.

When you get disciplined by your parents, are your parents making judgments about what's right and wrong? Yes. You've got to make judgments about certain things; things are wrong and we are supposed to make judgments about them, but again, in love.

Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5, " _It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife._ ** _2_** And you are arrogant! Ought you not _rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you._

 ** _3_** For though absent _in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing._ _ **4**_ When you are assembled in _the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus,_ ** _5_** _you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord._ "

In this situation, a family in the church is doing something bad: a man is sleeping with his mother. That's just wrong. And this church has been permitting this action and basically saying it's ok. Guess what they're doing… NOT JUDGING. Paul basically says that it's not ok. Isn't Paul just sooo judgmental?

Those people were not going in the right direction. They were not going towards God and the church wasn't doing anything to help them. That's why Paul said this.

When people are doing wrong and a Christian addresses this, it's not to be mean. It's to steer people in the right direction, away from destruction! This is in and out of the church.

The key to judgment is not to have malice, evil deeds, or be cruel. Walking around screaming "turn or burn" and protesting funerals is the WRONG attitude. This is what Jesus meant by the "plank in your own eye". How many people are actually going to listen to the name-calling and the cruel speech and take it seriously as advice? No one!

Now, there are things that in biblical law is illegal, but it is legal by the law of the land. Yelling at people about it isn't going to work. Now if you love on someone, regardless of what they do you may get the opportunity to respectfully and lovingly tell them that they probably shouldn't do certain things.

Judgments still have to be made, but watch your attitude.


	9. Chapter 9: Gravity Falls- Bill's Intent

**I love this world, but we'll probably not get it in the game because the show's creator hates Kingdom Hearts…**

 **But forget him! I'm doing it anyways!**

 **BTW, there will be loooooooooots of backstory introduced in this chapter, but it will all be elaborated on in the future.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Gravity Falls © Disney.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Gravity Falls- Bill's Intent**

* * *

Mickey, Lea, Riku, and Ven all awoke in an alley somewhere in a town.

"Ouch! That hurts!" Lea sat up, pushing a pipe, which had been sticking into his back, away.

"Where are we?"

Mickey stood up, looking around. "No idea."

The three stepped into the street to see a small town full of people. On the town hall, at the end of the street, hung the town's name: Gravity Falls.

Before they could say anything, the sky turned a deep red and the sky split apart. All eyes turned to the sky. Lea gave a long whistle. "Oh, we got here at a bad time…"

* * *

Donald, Goofy, Aqua, and Sora woke up in the middle of the woods with only one building nearby: the Mystery Shack.

"What happened?"

"No clue, but my butt hurts."

As they stood up, the wind picked up, and the sky turned red, splitting apart. "Oh heck! What is that!?"

"Oh no!" Out of the shack came a man with cracked glasses, with six fingers on each hand, dressed in a long coat and a boy wearing a hat with a blue pine tree on it.

The man's face went pale. "We're too late! It's the end of the world…"

* * *

Riku and the others looked up as a giant pyramid with two revolving sides and six arms holding flames. However, the four noticed the eye more than anything. The single eye with a slit pupil: it was the same eye which had appeared on the screen of the gummi ship and made them crash here.

A deep voice came from the pyramid. "All right, listen up you one-lifespaned, three-dimensional, five sensed skin puppets!" He shrunk down to a yellow triangle with a hat, bowtie, two arms, but retained that single eye, landing on a statue outside the town hall. "For one trillion years I've been trapped in my own decaying dimension, waiting for a new universe to call my own. Name's Bill! But you can call me your new lord and master for all of eternity!" Bill turned on the statue, melting it with a laser which came from his eye.

Mickey looked at the others, eyes wide. "Bill Cipher… He's is legendary, and has tried to take over the worlds before. However, the stories say that a Keyblade wielder banished him away.(1)"

"Now," Bill dramatically gestured to the tear in the sky. "meet the gang of interdimensional criminals and nightmares I call my friends." As he called the names, a different and horrifying monster came from the rift. "Eight-Ball, Kryptos, the being whose name should never be said… oh, what the heck, it's Xanthar. Then also there's Teeth, Keyhole, Hectorgon, Amorphous Shape, Pyronica, Paci-Fire, and these guys." He pointed upwards as hundreds of eyeballs with bat wings surrounded them. "THIS IS OUR TOWN NOW, BOYS!"

"Not happening!" The four Keybearers ran in front of the townspeople, weapons in hand.

"Either you leave, or we'll make you!"

The townspeople looked at the four before glaring up at Bill. "Yeah, you unholy… triangle… fella. As mayor, I strongly urge you to g-geet on outa here."

"Yeah, things with one eye are weird!"

"We don't like out-of-towners!"

"We punch what we don't understand!"

Lea smiled at the support of the people, but two people in rich clothing came forward. "I would just like to say that as a rich capitalist, I welcome your tyrannical rule. Perhaps I could be one of your… horsemen of the apocalypse?"

"Are you serious!?"

Bill's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Oh wow, that's a great offer… How 'bout instead I shuffle the functions of every hole on your face." He snapped and that's exactly what happened, turning the rich man into a grotesque-looking thing.

"Oh my gosh!?"

"Now for you…" the triangle fixed his eye on the Keybearers as the people began to flee, pursued by the eye-bats. "I'm glad you survived the trip here. I've been waiting to get revenge on some of your kind for a long time!"

Ven pointed his Keyblade at the triangle. "A Keyblade wielder stopped you before, and we'll stop you now!"

"Your power is nothing compared to Hiroki Gatsu's(2)."

"Who's?"

Bill waved a hand. "No matter. I'm making this interesting." He made a grabbing motion with his hand and pulled back. The Keyblades in their hands suddenly vanished.

"What!?"

"I've learned a few tricks in my days." The triangle pulled a keychain out of his hat, which now held their Keyblades on it. "Now, let's see what you can do to stop me."

Ven took a step back. Guys… I think now might be time for a tactical retreat."

"Agreed." They turned and ran away, with Bill laughing behind them. The streets became full of chaotic monsters and bubbles with turned people mad.

"This just got so much worse…"

* * *

Sora and the others stared into the sky with the boy and old man. The man sighed. "So, this is how the world ends… not with a bang but with a boo-boop." He twirled his finger in a circle around his ear. Everyone got the message.

"Weirdmageddon…"

Out of the trees came flocks of birds, scores of animals, followed by strange creatures: minotaurs, gnomes, and other creatures.

"The rift is shattered; Bill's world is spilling into ours and every minute his powers grow stronger."

"Mable!" The boy gasped. "the rift must have cracked inside her backpack! She must be in danger; I have to go find her!"

"We can find your sister soon, but first we have to stop Bill."

"Bill?" Goofy asked. "What's going on?"

The old man looked at them. "I'll explain later." He looked upwards, eyes widening. "But, we might want to step inside…" They all turned and saw a purple wave coming towards them.

"WEIRDNESS WAVE!"

Everyone ran into the Mystery Shack as the wave passed over. Aqua turned on the man and boy. "Now, tell us what is going on."

"I am Stanford Pines and this is Dipper." The older man explained. "What's happening is because of a being from another dimension named Bill Cipher. Dipper and I were trying to stop him from coming, but things went wrong. Now he's here and wreaking chaos upon this world and he won't stop here."

Aqua nodded. "I see. Well, we can help. Most of us are fighters."

"I'm sorry, but conventional weapons can't do anything."

"We can use magic," Donald piped up. "And most of the group are Keyblade wielders."

This peaked Stanford's interest. "Keyblade wielders!? According to legends, the last time Bill tried to invade this world, a Keyblade wielder sealed him in his own dimension… but his power has grown since then."

"Well, we'll help in any way we can. And we have some other friends; they're probably somewhere nearby."

"I might have a way to defeat him without you. So, go find your friends… we can handle things." The old man grabbed a case. "Come on, Dipper. Let's go." The two dashed out of the shack, leaving the group behind.

"He's not very nice."

Sora looked at Donald. "He's just stressed, as anyone would be. We need to find the others… if things are really bad, we have to make sure they're alright and we have to help anyone we can."

"Let's go!"

* * *

"Sneaking around sucks…"

"Lea, if you'd rather get turned to stone, be my guest."

"Shut up, Riku!"

Nearly two days had passed since they'd arrived and things had gotten worse. Without their Keyblades, things were so much more difficult, especially since Heartless had begun to arrive. While they could use magic and Lea could use his chakrams, this didn't destroy the Heartless completely.

Mickey peaked out from behind a building and gasped. "I can see Sora and the others!"

"About time!"

Riku was the first out in the open. Sora saw them. "Riku! Guys!" His smile fell as quickly as it came. "But, where's Kairi?"

"She's not with you?"

"No, we haven't seen her."

Lea held up his hands. "She's fine! She can handle herself! But we have a problem… Bill is super powerful!" He held his hand out. "See that? No Keyblade! Bill stole our Keyblades from us! I didn't even think that was possible! And I just got mine!"

"It shouldn't be." Jiminy opened up his journal. "Aqua told me that it was impossible. The Keyblade can reject someone, and Riku did take Sora's Keyblade but only because that was originally his Keyblade, but to completely take away the ability to wield it..."

Aqua crossed her arms. "Everything about this is strange. Now, we met some people who said they had a way to defeat Bill, but I think we can assume that they failed."

"No kidding!"

Mickey gave a hopeful smile. "Now we're together! We'll find Kairi and stop Bill!"

"At least someone is hopeful…"

Ven cocked his head as three figures slipped out of the destroyed shopping mall. "Look."

They all turned. "Dipper!?"

"Huh?" the boy skidded to a stop. "Hey, it's you!"

"Who are they?" A girl with red hair stood behind him, brandishing a crossbow. Behind her stood a strange man with a blue mohawk.

"It's ok, Wendy." Dipper came over. "I'm glad I found you. You said before that you could help earlier."

Sora nodded. "Yeah, we can help, but we're looking for a friend of ours."

The boy's face fell further than it already lay. "Please… my twin sister needs help! She's trapped in some sort of bubble outside of town."

The group looked between one another before they all nodded. "Show us."

Following the boy, they went out to an open area where they could see for a distance. Outside of town stood a large pink bubble wrapped in chains. On the outside of the bubble were two symbols: a shooting star and a Paopu fruit.

"The Paopu fruit!" Sora gasped. "That's the keychain for Kairi's Keyblade!"

"Then that's probably where she is."

"Sounds good," the red-haired girl hefted up her crossbow. "We find Mabel and you find your friend. I'm Wendy, by the way. Follow me, I know how we can get there." As they walked, they introduced themselves to the three and learned the name of the third person with Dipper and Wendy: Toby Determined.

* * *

"The abandoned auto-mart." Wendy smirked. "Free cars ripe for the hot-wiring. We just found our ride to Mabel and Kairi." They leapt over the fence, looking around at the cars.

Sora's gaze fell on Lea, who was already leaning in through a car window. "You know how to hot-wire one of these?"

"I may have stolen a few of these during my time in the Organization. I'd visit worlds that had them and I just had to have a joyride(3)."

Riku was about to make a wonderfully snarky retort when they all became blinded by a sudden burst of light. When their vision finally adjusted to the light, they could see three large vehicles and some people stood on top.

"Well, well! Looks like we gotta group of 'ground-walkers'.

"Ground-walkers! Ain't got no wheels!"

Those who still had a Keyblade summoned their weapons. "If you want to fight, we'll fight."

"Wait!" Dipper called. "Listen, we just want to make it to that bubble out east; we have no quarrel with you!"

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong!" A deep voice sounded from the middle car. "Put those weapons down or those two get it!" The figure pointed to Dipper and Wendy who were now surrounded by tall, strong men. The group lowered their weapons as the figure laughed. "Y'all fellers ain't goin' nowhere."

"Y'all?"

"Fellers? Wait, Gideon?"

The truck lit up to reveal a child in a cowboy hat on top of another man. "That's Sheriff Gideon to you! Under the authority of Bill Cipher, I place all of you under arrest!" As the group was shoved forward, Gideon whooped. "Whooooo-ee! Look what the apocalypse dragged in. Y'all are in a 12-piece bucket of deep fried trouble now! Ghost-Eyes, spittoon!" A man with glassy eyes held up a bucket and the boy spit some gum into it.

"Who the heck is this weirdo?"

"Gideon…" Dipper groaned. "He had a thing for my sister and she didn't like him back and then he got all creepy about it and tried to kill me. He also spied on the whole town and stole the Mystery Shack from my family."

Sora looked at Gideon. "That guy? But he's… just a little kid."

"And a lot more trouble than he's worth… and he's gotten folksier."

The little boy glared down at them, grinning. "My ol' pal Bill figured you might try to rescue Mable and that princess, so he appointed me master of these wastelands and keeper of the bubble. My sweet, precious Mabel is trapped inside and I have the only key wrapped around my… well, I wouldn't call it a neck exactly; wrapped under this little pocket of fat under my head. And don't you others fret; Bill made that lock so not even your magic keys could open it!"

"What does Kairi have to do with any of this!?"

"Kairi?" the boy cocked his head. "Oh, the princess. Bill just said he needs to get her to lend her pure light to him or somethin'."

Sora punched the ground with his fist. "Should've known it was because she's a Princess of Heart."

"And you have no right to keep her or Mabel in there!"

Lea pointed his fingers towards the box that tiny Gideon stood on. As the boy rambled on about Mabel loving him after being imprisoned, the pyro set the box aflame. "So, Gideon… I really don't think that is going to work." He grinned over at Wendy. "If there's one thing I know, it's that a red-head should never be underestimated. Oh, and by the way, your feet are on fire."

"What!?" the boy looked down to see the box on fire. He screamed and jumped back. Wendy grabbed the arm of one of the guys, twisting it behind him.

Donald tackled Gideon as Wendy jumped up, grabbing the little boy by the collar before ripping the key from his neck. She held out Gideon. "Get back! Get back or I will drop kick him, I swear!"

Wendy and Dipper ran to a car followed by Sora, Riku, and Aqua; the others followed Lea to the other car. "You'll never get away with this! Ya, hear me!?"

"Guess what?" Riku grabbed Gideon and threw him into a pile of tires. "We already did!"

They all climbed into cars and drove out of the auto-mart, with Gideon's men right behind them. Between them and the bubble lay a flat field filled with the bubbles of madness.

"Alright, all we have to do is outrace Gideon's henchmen, unlock the bubble, save Mabel and Kairi, and save the world."

Aqua pointed at the bubble field. "Go straight ahead! Just go through them!"

"Hold on!"

"What's even in there!"

The two cars, one beside the other, drove through the weirdness bubbles and things definitely got weird. The first bubble gave them all the heads of birds and made them crave worms. The second turned them into anime characters. The third turned them into people made of meat. The forth turned them into strangely realistic people.

Gideon's group made it through the bubbles and caught up to them, getting between the two cars and ramming them.

"Wendy, we're almost there!" Dipper yelled, pointing ahead to where a ravine spanned the gap of the wasteland. "We just have to make that jump!"

"I'll help!" Aqua leaned out the window, and as they hit the edge of the ravine, she cast Aeroza, catapulting them across. In the other car, Mickey did the same. The cars hit the ground, rolling across the dirt and jostling the passengers inside.

When they finally came to a stop, Dipper was the first to tumble out, with the others slowly following with Donald and Aqua both casting healing spells as best they could.

"Heya Dipper!" They all turned at a new voice; a large man in a baseball cap stood over the boy smiling happily. "How's it hangin'?"

"Soos!"

"Soos?"

The man called Soos held his head high. "Handyman of the apocalypse, at your service." He looked around. "Wow, you guys got some new friends."

Introductions were swift as Gidon's forces surrounded them. "Whooo-wee!" Gideon pulled between them and Kairi/Mabel's bubble. Everyone who still had a weapon summoned it, ready for a fight. "I dare say ya almost had the jump on me there for a second. But this ain't your Gravity Falls anymore! Out here, I win!" One of his henchmen tossed the boy a shofar, which he blew a long note on. "Bill's hench-bats will be here any minute to retrieve y'all. MABEL'S MINE NOW!"

Dipper looked down at the key in his hand. Just as Sora was about to charge Gideon, the boy stepped forward. "Is she?"

"Well, yeah, I have her trapped," Gideon explained. "Ergo, Mabel is mine."

"Gideon, listen to me. If I've learned anything this summer it's that you can't force someone to love you. The best you can do is strive to be someone worthy of loving."

"Oh, I'm worthy of lovin'! These prisoners love me!" The men all cheered in agreement.

"But Mabel doesn't, because you're selfish. But you can change! Bill thinks there's no heroes in this world, but if we work together and fight back, we can defeat him. You wanna be Mabel's hero? Stand up to Bill and let us save her!"

Lea leaned over to Riku and whispered. "He kinda reminds me of Sora…"

"Same…"

"That's crazy!" Gideon was not excited about the possibility of fighting Bill. "Y-you know what Bill would do to me if that happened!?"

"What? You're scared of Bill?"

"No… I just… it's a complicated situation."

"Look inside, Gideon!" Dipper continued. "If all this is for Mabel, then ask yourself what Mabel would want you to do."

The little boy turned away for a minute, silent before he spoke softly. "Dipper… will you tell her what I did?"

"O-of course…"

"I hope you're right about this…" Gideon's face became rigid with determination. "Guys, new plan! Bill's minions are gonna be on us in seconds, but I'm not gonna let that dumb triangle be the warden of me! Y'all ready for a good ol' fashioned prison brawl!?"

The men cheered, climbing into their cars as they drove to meet Bill's forces. "Think they'll make it?"

"Probably not…"

* * *

Everyone approached the lock of the chains around Kairi and Mabel's bubble. "Remember guys, this is a prison bubble designed by Bill; we've got to prepare ourselves for what we find in here."

"A wreaker of chaos designing a prison…" Sora laid a hand on his heart. He hadn't been able to feel anything from Kairi, and that worried him greatly. "But we can handle it… to save Mabel and Kairi!"

Dipper nodded. He walked towards the lock and inserted the key; with a single turn, all the chains fell off, clattering to the ground below. Slowly, they all walked inside the bubble.

* * *

Colors rushed past them as they tumbled through a sea of rainbow colors. When they hit the bottom, some of them landed on a bouncy, rubbery surface, while the others splashed down into salt water.

"Huh? Is the entire ground a bouncy castle?"

"Is this the ocean?"

"Do you hear 80's music?"

"Do any of you smell flowers?"

"No, but the air smells like child-like wonder."

Those on the side of the bouncy-castle floor peaked through the bouncy castle gates to see a world of rainbow hues, strangely innocent and colorful things, filled with living stuffed animals and strange creatures that spat rainbows.

Those on the side of the water found themselves looking at a walkway which led to a place that looked like Radiant Garden combined with the Destiny Islands.

"This is their prison?"

Sora looked between the two sides. "I think we know where Kairi is… Dipper, why don't you three go find Mabel, and we'll find Kairi."

"Sounds good." Soos, Dipper, and Wendy went into the terrifyingly colorful side while the others moved towards the Radiant Garden/Islands mixture.

They all looked around. "Should we split up?"

"I don't think we'll need to." Mickey pointed to their right, and they could see Kairi, sitting on a bench, holding some flowers.

"Kairi!"

They all ran over to the girl, who looked up at them, smiling. "Guys, you're here! I'm glad to see you!"

"Kairi" Sora wrapped his arms around her. "You're alright! We were so worried. Come on, let's get out of here."

"Why would you be worried? And I'm not leaving!"

"Huh?"

The girl pulled back holding the flowers to her chest. "This place is everything I could ever want… I can't leave. I don't want to leave!"

Everyone stared at her in shock. "But Kairi!"

"I can't leave!" the girl smiled. "They're here…"

"Who?"

The princess's face lit up with delight. "My birth parents! They're here!"

"What!?" Lea grabbed her shoulders. "What do you mean 'they're here'?"

She stepped back. "They're actually here. My mom and dad are here and they're everything I ever imagined they would be. Come on, I'll introduce you!" She grabbed Sora's hand and dragged him towards the castle, with nearly everyone following.

Riku moved to follow but paused as Lea hung behind. The redhead's fists shook. "This is wrong. They can't be here."

"What?"

"Never mind, let's just go." The pyro stomped forward.

* * *

"Mom! Dad!" Kairi waved at two people who stood near a fountain. "My friends are here!"

The two turned around. Sora saw a woman with red hair with roses woven in, dressed in a pink dress and a purple cloak. The man next to her had combed back auburn hair, dressed in a white and red suit with a red cloak.

"That's wonderful, Kairi!" The woman smiled. "Oh, did you get the flowers?"

"Yes, Mom." Kairi handed her the flowers.

The woman gave Sora a warm smile. "Hello, you must be Sora, we've heard so much about. My name is Nise Usotsuki and this is my husband, Torikku(4)."

"Nice to meet you." The boy smiled, shaking the hand of Torikku.

Kairi smiled. "And my parents from the islands come and visit too!"

"But, Kairi, I thought you couldn't remember your birth family…"

The girl looked at Nise and Torikku and then back to him. "I still don't remember, but I just have this feeling. It's the same about the other three too."

"Other three?"

"Apparently, as a child, I had three friends who were teenage boys. I don't really remember them though, but they're here too. Whenever I'm around them, I get this warm feeling inside. They've just got to be the real deal."

The others stood by listening. "You think this is for real?"

"I don't know."

Nise looked over at them, smiling. "Hello everyone! I'm glad you're here!" Her face glowed warmly. "I'm happy you were able to come. I think you'll find this world a perfect place for you. Take your time and look around; I know you'll find everything that your heart desires."

The others shrugged stepping back to discuss the situation.

Lea and Riku were the only ones left; the red-head had grown angry at the sight of Nise and Torikku, but he suddenly saw the three boys Kairi had spoken about. His face nearly turned as red as his hair and his body shuddered. "Th-this is wrong…!"

"Sora, come meet my old friends!" Kairi dragged him towards the three: a boy with spiky red hair in a ponytail, a boy with short blue hair, and a boy with scraggly black hair. "This is Kotonaru, Fikushon, and Hizumi(5)."

"Nice to meet you." Sora looked around at all this and then the truth came to him. "Wait, I know what this place is…"

* * *

"It's a prison…" Lea grumbled as he walked, hands in his pockets. "And it's the worst kind, a prison you don't want to leave because it gives you everything you could want."

Aqua nodded. "Kairi has been here for a few days and either she has been convinced of this place's validity, or, and this one is the most likely, she has convinced herself that she needs to stay here because it has given her what she wants and with us here, everything is perfect."

"Right, then we need to convince her to leave." Mickey turned around, watching Kairi and Sora. "Sora is probably the only one who could convince her; the rest of us should go look around for an exit."

Everyone nodded, splitting into groups: Aqua and Ven, Lea and Riku(6), Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.

* * *

Donald, Goofy, and Mickey walked along the streets. Jiminy moved from Sora's shoulder to Mickey's. He looked around the bubble. "This place looks so real, it's hard to believe it's a fake."

"Keep your guard up," the king ordered, "this place is going to try and trick us and give us what we really want."

As they continued, a clear voice rang out. "Mickey! There you are!" They turned around, to see Minnie walking towards them. "We've missed you."

"We?"

A small mouse came running out from behind her. "Daddy!"

Goofy and Donald's jaws dropped. "B-but…"

"Not to be rude, your majesty, but the queen can't have children(7), right?"

The king nodded slightly. "This place… it's giving me my heart's desire…" Tears stung his eyes. "But it's not real…" Slowly, the mouse king turned around, turning his back on the fake version of his wife. The other two followed him, in silence.

"Goofy! Goofy, darling!" A female dog with red hair, dressed in all white ran over, grabbing Goofy's arm.

He blinked, "Miss Geef(8)?"

"Darling, come on!" She sighed, a warm smile on her face. "Today's our wedding day, remember! Let's go!"

Goofy looked at her, blushing; his eyes turned away, pulling back. "Let's go…" They kept walking. Goofy smiled. "I'll go home to her soon."

Jiminy turned his eyes down to his journal as he saw Pinnochio in the distance. "We need to find a way out."

No exit. There didn't seem to be any way out. Donald let out a long sigh. "Well, we can't find a stupid exit, but at least this place can't do anything to me. I don't have anything I really want."

Mickey and Goofy looked at each other with raised eyebrows before laughing. The king pointed, still laughing. "Then who is that for?"

The duck turned around, beak falling open at the sight of a humongous pile of gold, jewels, and chests overflowing with money. Sitting on a couch atop the pile was Daisy Duck. Donald's eyes turned into hearts and he floated towards the pile, tongue lolling out.

"Donald!"

* * *

Aqua and Ven walked on the side of the place that looked like the Destiny Islands. "It's such a pretty place, too bad it's fake."

"I know…" Aqua rubbed her shoulder. "I just wonder what we might see here. I mean, this place does give you your heart's desires."

Ven looked up at her. "But isn't that a good thing?"

"Not really. It could bring back painful memories that we hold in our hearts."

She kept her eyes riveted on the ground, to block out anything that the place could throw at her. "Aqua?"

Looking up, she saw Terra standing in front of her. "Terra?"

"What is it that you and Ven want? Is it to know where I am?"

"Yes! Tell us!" The younger boy vibrated with anticipation.

Terra gave them a smile, but it turned to a dark smirk as his hair changed to a deep silver color, his ears became pointed, and his eyes turned to a golden color. In a moment, he became Xehanort; now, knowing what Xehanort was doing, they understood.

"Terra…" the female master's eyes hardened with determination. "We will save you, I promise!"

"Thank you, Aqua, but I think you have something else to deal with now."

As soon as Terra vanished in a glitter of light, a hand laid itself on Aqua's shoulder, and a strong voice spoke out gently. "Aqua, there you are. We've been waiting for you."

"Father…?" She turned around with Ven doing the same moments later.

The man before him was not at all what he expected his friend's father to look like. The navy-blue hair and blue eyes didn't look too out of place, but the man was thin and looked like he hadn't eaten in days, and he was covered in dirt and ash from head to foot. His clothes were little more than rags, clinging to his frail form.

"Father!" Aqua's hands went to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes.

"Aqua, why are you acting so strange? Let's go home. Your mother has dinner ready."

The girl began to follow him, but Ven grabbed her arm. "Aqua, you know that he's not real."

"I know, Ven, but… I have to. I-I have to see them, even if they're not real. I just have to." She pulled away and went after her father. Ventus followed behind at a brisk pace.

They came to a small hut, built of rotted wood and thatch, no bigger than his bedroom on the gummi ship. This was Aqua's childhood home? Outside stood a woman with hair like Aqua's; she was just as frail and dirty as her husband. Ven couldn't imagine the tall, regal, strong Aqua coming from a place like this.

"Mother!" The woman caught Aqua in an embrace.

"Hello, darling." Looking past her daughter, the woman looked at Ven. "Who's your friend?"

The Keyblade Master smiled. "Mother, this is Ventus."

"Hello, Ventus." The man held out a hand to him. "I am sorry I didn't address you before. My name is John and that's my wife, Rebecca."

"Nice to meet you, sir."

"I'm glad our dear daughter has a good friend." Rebecca picked up a basket and started for the house.

Aqua bit her lip. "Mother, Father. I can't stay. I have to go."

"But why?"

"I-I just have to… but, just know that I love you." Turning her back on the house, she and Ven walked away.

" _Fine then… go…_ " The voices behind them became wild and evil. The two turned around and Aqua's knees buckled underneath her. The house, an exact copy of her old one, sat engulfed in flames. Through the door, they could see the figures of John and Rebecca, but they were a dark red with a single eye, just like Bill's eye. They reverted back to the figures of the girl's parents, just in time for the house roof to cave in, crushing them.

"N-no! Not again!"

Ven knelt down beside her, taking her hand. "Aqua?"

"Why did it do that? Why…?"

Two sets of arms wrapped around the girl, as the bubble's magic made Eraqus and Terra appear, hugging the girl comfortingly. Ven glared at the fake images. "Go away! You're not real!"

"Ventus, leave your friend alone. She's in good hands."

The boy turned around only to see a woman and man, holding a stack of papers. "Mr. and Mrs. Derisory? But how?"

"Never mind, Ventus." The man took his hand. "You'll never believe it, but your parents have come to take you home. After being in the orphanage since you were two days old, they finally came."

"My parents…? But they abandoned me." Ven stared up, eyes filled with longing, wishing that it was true.

"L-let's go Ven." Aqua stood up, taking her friend's hand. She led him away from the temptation before him.

The boy had always been without memories of his past, but apparently, his fusing with Vanitas brought them all back. Now Aqua knew, he was like her: an orphan.

* * *

Riku walked beside Lea, with the red-head still grumbling and shaking with anger. "You know, you should stop frowning. My dad says it gives you wrinkles."

"Oh, shut up."

"Lea," the Keyblade master stepped in front of the older boy. "You need to calm down. What has you all steamed?"

The boy sat down. "This place. It's tricking her…"

"Her? You mean Kairi?" Riku raised an eyebrow. "I mean the two of you are friends, but not even Sora is going this crazy."

"He doesn't understand!"

It took Riku a moment, but he understood. "You knew her family. That's why you're mad."

"Yes!" He yelled, "Those aren't her parents! They may have the same hair color, but it's not them! She believes it is them! She's taken in by this trick!" Lea sat down on a bench, his head in his hands. Three people came walking towards them; Lea didn't even look. He knew who they were. "This place gives you what you want, so I know who's coming.

"Come on Lea, let's get some ice cream!"

Riku turned around, and now he could see another reason why Lea was so angry. The three teenage friends they'd seen Kairi talking to, now he could see the resemblance. The three who arrived were two young teens and a little girl.

The girl was Kairi when she was a little kid. The other two were teenage boys who looked familiar. It took him a moment, but he recognized the boy in the middle; he had teal eyes and blue hair: Isa, Lea's best friend. The other boy had black hair and Riku could see that he was the young man they'd met at Radiant Garden: Sasuke Kazekiri, but without the scar on his face.

"Those three friends… that was you, Isa, and Sasuke. You knew Kairi as a kid."

"Knew her?" the pyro sighed. "I started babysitting her when she was seven months old. Now she can't even remember us, but I'm doing what I have to, in order to rebuild our relationship. And this stupid bubble is going to take her past away and replace it with lies. And I know that she probably wouldn't trust my word on that, but Sora can snap her out of this." He looked up at the fake Isa, Kairi, and Sasuke. "Get out of here. That won't work on me."

The images disappeared as Lea stood up. Riku crossed his arms. "So, I guess, like Mickey, you don't want me to say anything?"

"Yeah, please."

The two began to walk, but as they came to the side that looked like the islands, Riku began glancing about cautiously, only to be rewarded as he stopped. "Lea, don't look over here."

"Huh?"

"Don't look!"

"Riiiiiiku!" the voice of a female child filled the air. Lea didn't turn around, only because Riku asked. But the young Keyblade master looked down as a small hand grabbed his own. "Big brother! You promised you'd take me out in the boat!"

Big brother? Riku had a sister?

"Hey, sis… sorry I can't. I-I love you so much." As he pushed past Lea, a cloud of gloom hung over the young master. Lea didn't have to ask to know not to say anything.

This bubble… it was supposed to give you what you want. It did that well, but when you knew the game it was playing, that longing became nothing but heartache.

* * *

"Kairi, I need to talk to you alone. You mind?"

"Not at all, Sora."

"Um," Nise spoke up, "We don't mind listening."

Sora knew they didn't want him to talk with her alone, but he had to. "Don't worry, Mrs. Nise. I won't take too long. It's just something personal."

Kairi took Sora's arm. "Don't worry, Mom!" She took Sora aside. "What is it?"

"Kairi, we have to go. Not just because this place is wrong, but there is a psycho named Bill Cipher, who might be worse than Xehanort, destroying this world. We have to stop him."

"I'm not leaving," she looked down. "I told you, this place has everything I want. And… well, I know you can stop him, but after you do, please come back."

Sora took her hands in his. "Kairi, I can feel your heart. Remember, we're bound by the Paopu fruit. You know this isn't right."

"It feels right and wrong at the same time." She admitted. "I feel like they are my real parents, but then I feel like they aren't. I just… if I leave this place, I will lose this. Here, I have my family, the family I don't know, that I don't remember. When I leave, I won't have anything."

Sora brushed a newly sprung tear off her cheek. "You will still have me and your family on the islands. And, if you're that curious about your family, then we can go to Radiant Garden. Ansem the Wise probably has records on everyone who lived there; he is the king after all."

"Y-yeah, you're right…" The girl smiled, shaking her head. "I guess I got caught up in the lie of this place."

"I can understand why." Sora chuckled, "though I haven't seen my heart's desire show up. That's probably because the only other thing I'd like is to have a peaceful future without Xehanort or anything like that."

Kairi giggled, before blushing. "Uh… well." She pointed behind him.

Sora blinked, seeing two children sitting nearby: a boy and girl who looked like Sora and Kairi. The kids looked over at them, smiling. "Hi, Mommy! Hi Daddy!"

Sora and Kairi both turned a deep red. The princess coughed into her hand. "Well, I think that's enough of this place for now. Let's go…"

" _You're not going anywhere_!" The sky turned a deep red as Nise and Torikku turned into creatures of dark red worm-like creatures, with a single eye each.

"Oh... this is bad..."

* * *

 **Lots of backstory introduced, and some feels!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this one!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne, or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

 _Please check out my short story: Wingsteel. Now available on Kindle._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) I thought this would be a good way to tie Keyblade wielders into this world.

(2) Sound familiar to some of you?

(3) I could see Axel doing this.

(4) Nise means "fake" and Torikku means "trick".

(5) Kotonaru means "different", Fikushon means "fiction", and Hizumi means "distorted".

(6) If you've noticed, Lea and Riku team up quite often in these situations. This is because they became pretty close friends during their training, and they are the two oldest boys in the group besides Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. There is also the fact, that in their trios (Sora/Riku/Kairi and Axel-Lea/Roxas/Xion) they are the oldest and the "tough guy" of the group.

(7) The only time Mickey and Minnie have ever had kids in anything was "A Christmas Carol", but those kids were more than likely stand-ins, using Mickey's twin nephews and Minnie's twin nieces, so I'm going by the assumption that Minnie can't have kids.

(8) This is the canonical name of Goofy's wife. 

* * *

**The Bible Doesn't Say That if You're Suffering You Must Have Sin in Your Life**

This is a saying that those of us who have grown up in church have probably heard at least once. It may not have been spoken to us, but we've probably heard it.

If we look at the book of Job, it can sound like God will punish for sins. Just like in Job 4:7-9, " _Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?_ _ **8**_ _As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same._ _ **9**_ _By the breath of God they perish,  
and by the blast of his anger they are consumed."_

There are other sayings of the wicked being punished and those righteous being spared his hand. People have used this to get the idea that suffering must mean you're sinning.

There are some instances when you could be going through stuff: constant sickness, loss of a job, cancer, etc. and people will ask what sin you must have.

However, all of these instances in Job are Job's friends talking to him. If you do not know the story of Job, Job had everything: land, money, family, health. And it was all taken from him suddenly. Job was known as a very righteous man.

Why would a righteous man go through so much suffering?

At the beginning of Job, it says that Satan went to God and basically said, "you think Job is so good and righteous, but you made his life easy and gave him everything. But as soon as he starts to suffer a little bit, Job will curse you."

God said, "go ahead and test him then. But you can't kill him."

Job had done nothing wrong, but he suffered beyond belief. His own wife told him to curse God and die. And his friends were the ones telling him "You must have sin in your life!" But he didn't.

Sometimes, we go through things, and we haven't done anything, then why do we go through it? James 1:2-4 says, " ** _2_** _Count it all joy, my brothers,[_ _a_ _] when you meet trials of various kinds,_ _ **3**_ _for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness._ _ **4**_ _And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing._ "

That's a pretty different perspective. It is good to go through trials and suffering because it builds our faith. It seems hard to wrap your head around at first. But it develops our perseverance.

When you get punished as a kid, you don't like it, but you learn from it. It's the same thing, we go through trials and it builds us up if we choose to learn from it. It wasn't fun, but it was good.

Job's friends, who said that sin had to be in his life, were rebuked by God later in the book of Job. He chewed them out really good. And I don't think hearing the almighty God audibly yelling at you, would be fun: more like terrifying.

But people still use their words; they may have good intentions, trying to help you get out of your suffering, but they're wrong. And you can't block out suffering, it's something we have to deal with it, but we have to learn to become resilient to it, with the help of others and God.

When you go through something tough, people saying "there's something wrong with you", don't help. When people are suffering, they need a shoulder to cry on, or someone to just do something to help them out, even with something as simple as doing the laundry.

When I lost my grandfather earlier this year, I remember that day. I got the call from my dad, and then my pastor showed up. He and his family took me out to dinner with the youth pastor, whose grandfather had died that day too. And then a friend of my parents took me out for a late-night ice cream.

Just little things like that. That is what you do for people who are going through something. It takes a little weight off their shoulders and it helps them work through their grief and persevere.


	10. Chapter 10: Gravity Falls- Take Back

**I finally got this chapter finished!**

 **For those who haven't seen this show, it's awesome! Go watch it!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Gravity Falls © to Disney and Alex Hirsch!**

 **OCs © to me!**

 **Sasuke © to Yamichaos!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Gravity Falls- Take Back the Falls**

* * *

"Axel…" Lea and Riku turned at two voices. The images of Roxas and a girl with black hair stood there. "You have to run. This world is turning on you."

"Huh?"

The images vanished as the sky turned red and everything turned into dark red worms with a single eye like Bill Cipher's. "Oh crap!"

"Oh, we need to go!"

* * *

Ven and Aqua walked quietly along until Ven paused. "It can't be…"

"Who is that?"

"Hello, Ven." A girl with blonde hair smiled over at them.

"Naminé?"

The girl sighed. "I'd love to talk more, but you have to leave this place. It will host you no longer and it wants you dead."

Ven opened his mouth but she vanished and the sky turned red. Aqua took his hand. "Come on, we need to go."

* * *

"Mickey, get out of here." A rabbit in blue clothes stopped in front of the three Disney Town residents.

"OSWALD?!"

"Just go!"

They turned as the sky went red. All of them met up back at the entrance, with Sora dragging Kairi behind him. "We made them mad!"

"No kidding!"

Aqua looked around. "We never found an exit, so we'll make our own." She blanketed the bubble wall with a Blizzardza spell. With one slam, the frozen part shattered, opening up the wall. Just as the group leapt out, the rest of the bubble popped.

"There's the others… and they're riding a giant… pig." Dipper, Wendy, Soos, and a girl they assumed was Mabel landed nearby. They were on a giant pig, but the pig shrunk back down to normal size.

"Hey," Dipper smiled. "You guys made it, and you found your friend."

"And you found your sister."

Mabel looked over, smiling. "So, you're the friends Kairi told me about. Hi, I'm Mabel." Her eyes suddenly widened as she dashed over to Riku, batting her eyes. "But you can call me 'the girl of your dreams'."

"Uhhhh…"

"Mabel!"

"Sorry." The brown-haired girl sighed. "Man, I went nuts back there. I mean, come on. The real world can't be that bad. Right?"

She turned: the sky was red, Bill's castle floated in the sky, a giant goat trampled the city, and the water tower walked around, roaring. "Oh boy…"

Making their way into town, no signs of life remained. "Where is everyone?"

"The town's deserted."

"Did Bill already win?"

Dipper bit his lip before speaking. "Come on guys, let's go hide out in the shack." Slowly and carefully they went to the outskirts of town, to the building Sora had seen before. The Mystery Shack.

As their eyes fell upon it, Lea huffed. "That place is a dump."

"Yes!" Dipper cheered. "It's in shambles! Just like we left it."

"Oh man!" Wendy took off. "This is the first time I've ever felt happy going to work."

They all ran towards the disheveled building, hope rising within them, for it seemed they would have a quiet and safe place to rest, even for a little while. "Hello, house! Hello, porch! Hello, wads of gum I left stuck to the couch!"

"Mabel, that's gross."

Riku reached for the door handle, only to hear shuffling inside. He held up a hand to silence the others. "Everyone, hush." They all tensed up, ready to fight at any moment. Riku looked back at them before breaking in the door.

Everyone rushed in but stopped as they saw a crowd of people and animals. The man in front was old with a fez on his head and a sash across his chest which read "chief". Dipper and Mabel lowered their weapons. "Wait? Grunkle Stan!"

The man lowered the baseball bat he was holding. "Kids?" Dipper and Mabel ran to him, hugging the man. "I can't believe it! I thought I'd lost you two."

The group smiled as the reunions continued. Soon, Stan looked over at them. "And who are these guys?"

"These guys helped us, Grunkle Stan."

"Yes," Mickey piped up. "We are here to help. We want to stop Bill. Actually, the last person to seal Bill away had the same powers as we do."

"Really?"

"So," Dipper looked around, "What's everyone doing here?"

Mabel nodded. "Yeah, there's like monsters and gnomes, and is Pacifica wearing a potato sack?"

A blonde girl crossed her arms. "Hey, even in a sack I still look better than you."

"Hey everyone!" A minotaur yelled out. "Eyebat!"

Everyone closed the doors and windows, ducking down, and going silent as one of Bill's flying eyeballs came over, looking the shack over. After a minute, it flew away. Once it was gone, Sora cast a Fire spell at a trash can, lighting up the room.

Stan sighed. "Welcome to what's left of normal around here. Home base…" There were a few people, gnomes, minotaurs, golf-ball people, a unicorn, and a bear with many heads, among other things.

"How'd this all happen?"

"So, I was hammering signs out back when the sky started vomiting nightmares." Stan grunted, "I listen to a lot of A.M. radio, so I knew what this meant: the end of the world. What I didn't expect was what happened next… I ran into the shack as a weirdness wave came by and it went right around the shack." He looked down at Dipper. "Turns out whatever you and my brother did to the shack with your unicorn voodoo mad the crazy place invincible to weirdness."

Riku smirked. "So, this shack is resistant to Bill's magic? Nice."

Stan nodded. "So that's when 'possum-breath' here shows up with a bunch of injured stragglers through the forest. They needed a place to stay, and since the mayor got captured, I elected myself de-facto chief. The plan is to stay in here and eat brown meat until we run out. Then I vote we eat the gnomes."

"Hey!" a gnome yelled, "I'm short, not deaf!"

"Shh! Shh! Stress will make you chewy."

"Grunkle Stan," Dipper called out, "We can't all just hide inside the shack. There's a town in need of saving. Me and Ford tried to do it, but he got captured by Bill."

"Serves that jerk right!" Stan opened a can of brown meat and sat down. "My brother's had some stupid plans, but going up against an all-powerful space demon was his worst one yet. Trust me, we have everything we need right here. It's not the ritz, but at least the monsters inside know how to massage."

"You'd abandon your brother and all those innocent people?"

Sora shook his head. "We can't just sit here and do nothing. We can't let Bill win!"

"Look, kid, we got a good deal here. Besides, I'm sure wherever the rest of the townsfolk are they're fine." Stan's hand came down on the power button of the television remote control.

The TV switched on to a news channel where a woman, disheveled and scared, stood. " _This is Shandra Jimenez reporting live from the inside of Bill's castle. Here, for the first time are images of what's happened to the captured townsfolk. Viewers are advised to look away if they don't want to see their friends turned into a twisted throne of human agony."_ All the townspeople were stone statues that had been stacked together to form a giant throne, presumably for Bill. _"Is there no one who will save the people of this town?_ " A red light covered the reporter as she slowly turned to stone. " _I'm Shandra Jimenez, and I'm being turned into stone, by a flying eyeball._ " As she became a statue, the television feed cut out.

Ven covered his mouth. "Oh my gosh…"

"Guys, don't you see," Mabel stood up. "Our friends need us, but we can only save them if we fight back!"

Dipper joined her. "Mabel is right. Bill wants us to run and hide; he wants us to think he's invincible, but Ford told me before he was captured, that he knows Bill's secret weakness." This captured the attention of everyone. "Now, if we band together. If we combine all our strengths, our smarts, our abilities, then we might just be able to rescue Ford, learn Bill's weakness, and save Gravity Falls!"

Everyone cheered; Aqua smiled at the boy. "Good job, Dipper."

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Stan waved his arms to get everyone's attention. "Have you all forgotten who's in charge here? Besides, we're only safe inside. It's not like we can take the Mystery Shack to Bill."

Jiminy stood up on Sora's shoulder. "Stan, you can't just give up though!"

"Whoo!" an old man with a long beard and an old hat whooped. "Holy whoot-an-nannies, flapjack-n-fiddle-banjos(1)!" He calmed himself. "Sorry, sorry… got a little excited. What I meant to say is, I think I figured out a way to fight Bill and rescue Ford, but we're all gonna have to work together. Now, listen up…"

* * *

"That old man, McGucket, is smarter than he lets on." Lea grabbed a chair and carried it away. The hillybilly's idea to fight Bill was to turn the shack into a giant fighting robot, and somehow it was working.

Sora grabbed a box of electrical parts and went up to the attic. Kairi was supposed to be in the attic, putting together some pieces for one of the weapons. When he reached the attic, he found Kairi sitting down, papers all around her, covered in drawings.

"Kairi? You ok?" Jiminy slipped off Sora's shoulder and stood beside the girls' drawings.

"No…" she sighed, picking up one of the pictures. "I-I just had to do something after what happened in the bubble."

"Are you drawing what you remember about the bubble?"

The girl nodded. "I'm comparing it to my dreams… I think my therapist(2) would want me to that."

Sora knelt down, patting her shoulder. "If you think Dr. Areth(3) would want you to do that, then go ahead. I'll handle working on the weapon."

"Thank you…"

Sora watched as she continued to draw, with Jiminy sitting beside her, quietly talking with her. He'd seen her do this before, as had Riku, only a few months before...

* * *

 _Sora knocked on the door to the Mizu's house. Riku crossed his arms. "Kairi's usually out by now. Something has to be wrong."_

 _The door opened slightly to reveal a woman with black hair. "I thought you boys would come by sooner or later. Come inside, Kairi will be happy to see you."_

 _"_ _Thank you, Mrs. Talitha." The two boys came inside._

 _Kairi sat at her family's table, papers all around her; from the front door, the boys could see bags under her eyes. A man with purple hair and green eyes sat across from her. The man smiled at her. "Good job, Kairi."_

 _The boys recognized the man as Dr. Areth Himitsu, the island's lead physiatrist. He was the man who diagnosed Kairi's amnesia when she first arrived on the islands. Ever since then, he'd been keeping tabs on her, coming in when she needed help or just checking up on how she was faring._

 _"_ _It looks like the drawings are consistent with all the others." He adjusted his glasses before writing something down. "This coincides with my initial diagnosis. These dreams are always the same, you never remember them, and you always draw the same things. I still believe that these dreams are your mind reliving the traumatic event that caused you to lose your memories."_

 _Kairi nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Areth. Do you want me to continue working on lucid dreaming?"_

 _"_ _Yes. Now, just let me know if something changes, if you have the dream again, or if you need anything." The man packed up his papers, shook Kairi's hand, and left._

* * *

"Kairi, have you had that dream again?"

"Not really." The girl folded up the drawings and stood up, coming to him, the cricket jumping onto her shoulder. "I really need to help you. I can't just sit on my butt all day." She grabbed some parts and used fire magic to weld them together.

Sora laid his hand on hers. "Kairi, I know you think about your birth parents more than you let on, so it's alright to be kinda messed up by what happened in that bubble."

"I know… I just wish I knew something about them. The only thing I have is that image of a woman with red hair and a man with auburn hair, burned into my memory."

"Well…" the boy grinned. "Your dad is the mayor… doesn't he take a census every few years?" She nodded. "Well, if Ansem the Wise is the king of Radiant Garden, wouldn't he have taken a census sometime? We can ask to look into records and see what we can find on your family!"

"Sora, you're a genius!"

Sora laughed, putting an arm around her shoulder. "Then once Bill's done for, it's off to Radiant Garden."

"Yeah!"

* * *

Everyone worked together, using what skills they had to put together McGucket's plan. With all the workers, the project was completed in a relatively short time.

Aqua sat beside Dipper, going over the battle plan. "We can only do our best, Dipper. Bill was able to steal the Keyblades of some of our friends. We can try and get them back, and we'll do our best to stop him."

"If Ford's plan works, we may not need to fight him head-on."

The young woman nodded. "Alright, let's do this then."

* * *

The night before the attack on Bill, everyone sat around a campfire; a sense of warmth and hope filled the air. The warmth may have been because Mabel made everyone "apocalypse sweaters".

"This is the best day of the end of the world." Mabel grinned. "I think we actually have a chance to beat Bill and win back our future."

Donald looked over at Sora and Kairi, who sat against a tree, snuggled together, sleeping. "I know they think this is a great day."

Riku walked around the camp, patrolling for any of Bill's minions when he heard a grumpy voice. "This whole plan is bonkers. Of course, no one asks the 'chief' what he thinks." The boy walked around the house and saw Stan grumbling to a gnome. "After all I've done for everyone."

The gnome, who had buck-teeth and his eyes in two different directions. "Schmebulock…"

"Yeah, exactly, it's a total load of Schmebulock."

Riku walked over to him, just as Dipper and Mabel came. "You know, Stan, maybe you should not think only about yourself. I get that you and your brother fight, but you're going to hold everyone back…"

"If you didn't know, I already saved him once from a portal, and he never thanked me. He causes the end of the world, and somehow it's still always, 'Stan's the screw-up, Ford's the hero'."

Dipper put his hands on his hips. "Well, maybe people think Ford's a hero because he didn't want to hide in the Mystery Shack…"

"Well, maybe if he hid in the Mystery Shack he wouldn't have been captured. "

Riku stepped between the two, arms crossed. "Look, I don't know you that well, and I don't claim to, but one thing I do know is that siblings fight and sometimes they hurt one another. You might get angry at them, yell at them, but if something were to happen to them… y-you'd never forgive yourself…" He let out a deep breath. "Just think on that…" Turning away, Riku continued his patrol in silence.

* * *

Dawn broke upon Gravity Falls and on the Mystery Shack.

"Alright, fellas!" Old man McGucket hollered. "Let's hope this turns out better than my other inventions!"

"Everybody ready…? NOW!"

Dipper pulled a lever and the shack came alive. It stood up with its robotic legs and began walking across what was left of Gravity Falls, heading directly for Bill's floating castle. As they reached the castle, they sent one of the robotic arms, which was actually a tyrannosaurus rex, partially trapped in amber, to punch through the wall of the castle.

Inside, they could see Bill on his throne, with his henchmen all around; said henchmen charged forward, to combat the shack.

Soos stood on the shack's front porch; he tapped a megaphone in his hands. "Hey dudes… is this thing on? Uh, I just want you monster dudes to hand over Ford, or we'll have to like, fight and junk."

"ATTACK!"

The monsters charged, but the people inside the shack were ready. "Like we planned, everyone!"

As the monsters charged and people inside the shack operated machinery, the Keybearers all cast magic spells from the roof, destroying the eyebats that flew around. It did not take long for them to defeat all the monsters.

A minute later, Bill, who was now as large as the shack, came flying out of the castle. He brought down a giant fist on the shack, but a magic barrier appeared, blocking the space demon. "What the…?" The triangle man grew other fists. "No! No, no, no no!" He pounded on the barrier.

"ATTACK!" The dinosaur arm reached out, the reptile biting down on Bill's eye, pulling it out.

"AW! My eye!" Bill reached up to the hole in his head. "Do you know how long it takes to regenerate that!?"

"He's distracted, now's our chance!" Mickey yelled.

"Rescue team, MOVE OUT!"

All the off-worlders, Stan, Mabel, Dipper, Wendy, Soos, and McGucket went downstairs to some pipes; they climbed inside. "Ok, plan is to find Ford, get out, and save the world. Piece of cake!"

"Now you're talking!" Lea cheered.

"Hey, on second thought," Stand fidgeted in the tube. "Maybe we can come up with a plan that doesn't have us plummeting to our certain death?"

"Nope! NOW!" They all shot up the pipes and out the top of the shack.

With Bill still blinded, they flew over his head and directly into the open door of the castle. Aqua and Donald cast Aeroza to cushion their fall, so they were able to land perfectly. As they looked up, they found themselves at the base of the giant throne, made of human statues.

"Oh man, it looks even worse up close."

Lea suddenly gasped. "There they are!" He ran over to a floating keyring where the Keyblades Bill had stolen hung. He grabbed his Keyblade, which glowed and returned to him. "I have missed this thing sooooo much!" The others who lost their Keyblades before came and retrieved theirs.

Mabel pulled out her grappling hook and sent herself flying up to the armrest of the chair. After a moment, she called down to the group. "I found Great Uncle Ford! He's golden, but not in a good way!"

"Great!" Riku climbed up to where she stood; he could see Ford, frozen into a golden statue. "Let's grab him and get out of here."

"But how are we gonna unfreeze the others?"

"I know!" They all looked up to the right of the throne. A small birdcage hung there, and Gideon, the same one who tried to stop them before, was inside. He'd been dressed in a sailor suit and was dancing.

"Gideon… What happened to you?"

The boy wept as he continued dancing. "Bill captured me. He's been forcin' me to do cute dances in this cage for all eternity. I'm so tired of bein' cute!"

"Yeah, you're not cute." Aqua unlocked his cage and created a slide of ice for him.

Dipper narrowed his eyes. "How do we unfreeze them?"

"Mayor Tyler! He's the loadbearing human. Pull 'im out and the whole thing comes down."

Sora and Dipper went over to a man wearing a "mayor" sash. They pulled on his arm and he came out of place, turning from stone to human. The entire chair came tumbling apart and each statue became flesh and bone again.

The off-worlders stood back, watching as people woke up, reuniting with friends and family. It almost made them forget the situation they found themselves in.

Slowly Ford turned back as well. "Kids! You did it! I knew I could count on you!" The man hugged Dipper and Mabel.

Sora looked around at the castle. "Well, we got the townspeople, but how do we beat Bill?"

"Yeah, Ford," Donald squawked. "Dipper says you have a way to beat Bill."

The older man nodded. "Yes, I-I do. Now, does anyone have a pen, pencil, anything? …Ah ha!" Ford picked up a can of spray paint that one of the townspeople dropped. "Perfect!" They all watched as he began painting something on the floor.

When he finished, they all stood around a zodiac: a picture of Bill in the center and symbols in the spaces around him. "A zodiac?" Aqua looked at the symbols around Bill. "These aren't traditional zodiac symbols. That must be part of the magic…"

"It's a prophecy…" Ford knelt down to the picture. "Many years ago, I found ten symbols in a cave. Some I recognized then, some I only recognize now. The native people of Gravity Falls prophesied that these symbols, along with a Keyblade held by a one who has ancient blood, could vanquish Bill. With Bill defeated, his weirdness could be reversed and the town could be saved. This whole time I thought it was just superstition, especially since I'd never heard of or seen a Keyblade before, but seeing you all here now, I finally understand that it's destiny!" He began looking at the symbols and figuring who went where. "Dipper: the pine tree. Mabel: the shooting star…"

Soos stepped onto the question mark symbol, which matched the question mark on his shirt. Mickey noticed the symbol that looked like his silhouette. "I think this one's for me."

"The 'Tent of Telepathy' sign." Dipper pointed at a star. "That must be Gideon." Gideon stepped onto his spot.

"I know where I go." Kairi stepped onto the Paopu fruit symbol.

Ford stepped onto the hand with six fingers. "Hold hands everyone! This is a mystical human energy circuit."

Wendy stepped into the symbol of a bag of ice and McGucket stepped onto the spectacle symbol. Ford nodded. "Now all we need is the Keybearer with ancient blood…"

"Yeah, we don't know who that would be."

Sora's Keyblade appeared suddenly, the tip glowing as it pulled Sora towards the circle. "Hey! What's this Keyblade doing!?" It dragged him into the middle of the circle; he, the zodiac, and all those on it holding hands began to glow. "Whoa!"

"Wonderful! Now, the energy will transfer into your blade. All you have to do is hit Bill with it."

"Great!"

The glow around them intensified. "I think it's working!"

"Yes! This is it!" the older man laughed. "The rest of you, get out." Everyone, save the off-worlders, ran for the exit. Once they left, Ford looked around. "We just need one more person…"

There stood Stan, off to the side, looking away. "Uh, Stan! Get in there!"

"You realize this is a bunch of hogwash right?" Stan grunted angrily. "You really think caveman graffiti is gonna stop that monster?"

"DANG IT OL' MAN! NOW'S NOT THE TIME!"

"COME ON!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"STAN! IF YOU DON'T DO THIS BILL WILL WIN!"

The man turned on them, "Whoa, hey! I'm not the enemy here, people. Don't forget who literally created the end of the world." His eyes narrowed at Ford.

"I'm sorry, Stanly, I know. Just help me fix it, please."

Stan let out a huff. "Fine! Just do one thing… say 'thank you'."

"What?"

"I spent 30 years trying to bring you back into this dimension, and you still haven't thanked me! If you want me to hold your hand, say 'thank you'!"

Ford nodded. "Fine. Thank you."

"Ah, see," the other man took his brother's hand. "Between me and him, I'm not always the bad twin."

"Between 'him and me'… grammar, Stanly."

"I'll 'grammar, Stanly' you, you stuck up…!" Stan let go and the magical circuit broke as the two men began to fight.

Everyone rushed to stop the fighting when a shadow fell over them. Bill floated up to the entrance, the destroyed remains of the Mystery Shack behind him. "Oh no, it's Bill… Right? Isn't that what you're all thinking?" The triangle looked over them with his single eye. "Hey Gideon, why aren't you dancing? Chop, chop, huh." He laughed. "Oh, this is just too perfect! Didn't you brainiacs know that the zodiac doesn't work if you don't all hold hands? And what's better, you've brought every threat to my power together in one easy to destroy circle!" With one swing of his arms, the zodiac burst into flames.

Everyone jumped back, the Keybearers summoning their weapons. Red arms of energy snaked across the floor, tying up Ford and Stan as Bill summoned monstrous Heartless to keep Sora and his friends busy. The Heartless came hard and fast, so they could not pay attention to what was going on behind them, only that there was yelling, grunting, a flash of bright red light, and then quiet.

In the chaos, Riku caught sight of the other zodiac members, save Dipper, Mabel, Stan, and Ford. Bill had turned them into tapestries on the walls. Now, a triangular cage rose up around the two kids. "Kairi! Get to Bill!"

"Got it!" The girl flipped over the Heartless and ran at the demon. As he turned around to address the captive Dipper and Mabel, the princess drove her Keyblade into Bill's eye.

"AH! I just regenerated that eye!" The rest of the group managed to defeat the Heartless.

Sora ran over, breaking Dipper and Mabel out. "Run, we'll fight Bill!"

"But…"

"Go!" The twins ran as Bill turned on the Keybearers.

"Your kind have always been a problem!" The demon snarled. "I'm going to slaughter you all!"

Sora's Keyblade began to glow and he felt as if a second pair of hands held his Keyblade. "We'll stop you, Bill!"

"His power is with you…" the triangle held up his arms. "I'LL NEVER BE SEALED AWAY AGAIN!" Fire rose up around the Keybearers, constricting them. The true power of this being set in and fear gripped their hearts(4). "I'LL TURN YOUR BONES TO PASTE! I'LL HANG YOUR CORPSES ON MY WALLS! WHEN I GET OFF THIS WORLD, I'LL FIND EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE YOU LOVE AND REDUCE IT TO ASHES! FIRST, YOU WILL ALL SUFFER! YOU WILL BEG FOR DEATH!"

" _YOU WILL NOT HURT THEM!_ " Eight voices cried out as a brilliant light surrounded the Keyblade wielders.

"What's going on!?"

A soothing, female voice spoke from the light. " _Do not worry, Bill will fall, but that is not for you to do. Keyblade wielders had their time in that world, now it is time for those who live there to stand on their own._ "

The light faded away and they found themselves standing in the gummi ship. "What… the heck…?"

"Aqua, what was that?"

"Do you really think I know, Ven?"

Mickey held up his hand. "Whatever just happened, we need to get back."

"We can't," Goofy shook his head. "The ship is far away from Gravity Falls…"

Sora crossed his arms, "Someone saved us from Bill… but who?"

"I don't know, but did you guys feel a hand on your shoulder when that happened?" Ven shuddered. "I did, and I looked but there wasn't anyone there."

"Something strange happened, but what can we do about it? We're here, and that light is totally gone…"

Aqua sat down, looking around at the entire group. "Well, we do what we can. I have this feeling in my heart that we can trust those voices; if that's the case, Gravity Falls will be just fine. We just need to keep going on our task and see what happens."

"Aqua's right. If we can't get back to Gravity Falls in time to help, we just need to keep going."

Sora moved across the ship to the cockpit. "I'll take over then. You guys rest up."

"Sounds good." As the others left, Kairi looked over at Sora; he grinned and winked at her. When they left, Sora turned the ship towards Radiant Garden.

* * *

On Radiant Garden, Ansem pottered about his office and lab, with Even and Ienzo nearby. His computer dinged, catching their attention. " _Lord Ansem._ "

"Ah, Tron, what is it?"

" _I have finished sorting through the old records like you asked._ "

"Very good. And?"

The computer program didn't speak, but another voice piped up, the voice of Tron's new backup program: Nightshade(5). " _All of the files from before Xehanort took over have been corrupted. They are virtually unreachable and un-savable, except for one…_ "

"Oh?" Even walked over to the computer. "What file?"

" _A single clip of security camera footage… from the night the world fell. The images come out clear, but we will need time to repair the corrupted audio; however, there are some things that you can still hear._ "

"Then, may we see it?"

Tron spoke once more. " _Ienzo, before we do, you should probably bring Dilan, Aeleus, and Sasuke here. They should see this as well…_ "

* * *

The three guards and three scientists stood before the computer terminal as the video appeared.

At first, there was nothing but static, then the image came through…

The audio was spotty, but they could see what was happening. Horror, pain, sorrow, and anger crossed their features as tears threatened to flow. (6)

" _…_ _And she was so beautiful too…"_

 _"_ _Xehan…"_

 _"…_ _little daughter will b…."_

 _"…_ _hated about you, Kan…"_

 _"_ _You shame your title a…"_

 _"_ _Darkness is not an ending, bu…"_

 _"…_ _won't let you lay…."_

 _"_ _How the mighty have fallen…"_

When the video ended, Ansem stood in shock, his mind reeling to process what he saw as tears began to flow down his cheeks.

Dilan and Aeleus looked down. The stalwart expressions they always bore, melting away as they both wept. For once, they didn't hide their emotions, but let them flow like the tears the ran rivers down their faces.

Ienzo wrapped his arms around himself, sobbing quietly. Even's hands went up to his face as the cold, scientific shell he held up began to crack and the warm human underneath showed. He cried out, in pain and sorrow as emotion took over.

Sasuke trembled, though he did not know if it was out of sorrow or fury. He clutched his uniform as his hot tears trickled onto the white fabric. "N-no matter what… Xehanort will pay for this…!"

* * *

 **Have some feels and prepare for more later**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this one!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Trying to write that was just weird so I did my best.

(2) I have NO idea what a therapist would actually have her do.

(3) Anagram alert.

(4) Bill is nearly all-powerful, so he could kill them easily.

(5) She's still in my series too, but she won't have a big role in any arc.

(6) Some of you might recognize this scene from another story...

* * *

 _VA:_

 _Nightshade- Cassandra Lee Morris (Leafa/Suguha Kirigaya, Noriko Paku, Enna Kros)_

* * *

 **How to Read the Bible**

Isn't that a weird title for a devo?

What I mean is, when we read the Bible, we were intended to be able to look at it and see ourselves and our lives in it and to be able to understand things in a sense that can help us and give us revelation about God and his glory.

I am not here to tell you that one translation of the Bible is better than another. What I am here to tell you is to not read the Bible like it was something that happened and is only applicable long ago. It's not just a book that was written for people back then, using words and phrases only they would get, it holds slang, idioms, and speech patterns that we recognize.

If you look into it, God is sarcastic, sassy, snarky, and has an incredible sense of humor.

I attend a Bible college and my friends and I talk about this stuff around the lunch table. We all agree that one should not read the Bible as if it is Shakespeare: all high and dramatic and just a big story that we might be able to mind some things in if we really dig. We should read it as if it was a modern conversation.

Look at scripture and imagine how people would react in daily situations. In a book that has been translated from another language, it is hard to get the slang and the emotion that is there.

By looking at the Bible in this way, you can see how God is too. You see that we are made in his image and we get a lot of things from him.

I will give you two examples of this.

The first comes from my favorite part of the Bible: Job 38-41.

If you know the story of Job, you know that he suffered and did not curse God, but he did complain and he basically said that he was suffering because he did something wrong, as if he knew God's intentions and God's mind. In Job 38, God speaks and uses a form of communication that we today are fluent in sarcasm.

Job 38:3-5 says, "' _Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me… Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements- surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?_ "

I have read this passage many times and I never saw the sarcasm before… or the sarcasm that encompasses the rest of the chapter and the 3 that follow.

The second example takes place in Matthew 8. When we read about Jesus, sometimes we see him as a figure who spoke perfectly with all formality. We can forget that he was fully God and fully man at the same time.

In Matthew 8:23-27, we read a familiar story. " _And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he (Jesus) was asleep. And they (disciples) went and woke him saying, 'Save us, Lord; we are perishing'. And he said to them, 'Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?' then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, 'What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?'"_

Imagine this: there is a hurricane blowing and Jesus is sleeping in the boat; the disciples are freaking out and they wake him up. We read this now very formally, but if you're sleeping that hard, you don't wake up and start speaking formally. You're groggy.

In modern terms, Jesus probably woke up and was still half-asleep, and these disciples are freaking out. I mean, if the King of Kings is sleeping during this hurricane, I think you can assume that you're going to live through it. If it was really such a problem, he would've done something about it by now. Not to mention they just watched him heal a bunch of people, and now they're asking, "who is this guy". I could imagine Jesus rolling his eyes at them

Sometimes we jump over some of the most natural parts of the Bible. We read it like it's a book that doesn't appeal to today, but looking closer, we see how real it is to today.

These writers, save a few, were generally uneducated and very real about their experiences and they wrote in what they were comfortable with.

So, when you read the Bible, look at what's really happening and you can see how little has changed in the time since this book was written.


	11. Chapter 11: The Past Uncovered

**Hi,** **guys!**

 **Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Deviantart if you'd like some updates on my fanfics, art, or my upcoming book series. I will also be putting up my own website soon.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: The Past Uncovered**

* * *

Tifa pushed a small glass of bourbon across the bar top. "Here you go, Sasuke."

"Thanks…" The young captain of the guard took a sip from the glass. Beside him sat Aeleus, Dilan, and Ienzo.

Aeleus raised an eyebrow. "I never pegged you for a drinker, Sasuke."

"Only once in a while," Sasuke sighed. "I find it helps relieve the stress when the past catches up with me… and considering what we saw last night, I think I need it."(1)

"Well, just be careful. The guard doesn't need an alcoholic for a captain." Squall came walking up and sat beside him.

"Yeah… Captain…" Sasuke let out a long sigh. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that title. I just feel like it belongs to my master…" He took another drink. "I miss Master Kaname and Mrs. Rimi so much."

Aeleus patted him on the back. "I know. We all do. That video did a number on all of us…"

"Video?"

"Don't ask."

Tifa came over to them. "I assume you saw Kairi?"

"Yes," Ienzo pushed the hair from over one eye. "It's hard to talk to her since she can't remember us. I grew up with her like Sasuke and Lea did. The rest of you knew her since she was a baby…"

"Let's stop talking about this now." Sasuke finished off his glass of bourbon.

He jumped as a hand clapped him on the back. "Hey there, losers!" Lea slid onto the barstool beside them.

"Since when did you get back?"

"Since, uh, about seven minutes ago." The red-head turned to Tifa. "Is Sera here?"

The girl smiled. "She's upstairs, I'll go get her."

As Tifa left, Sasuke looked at his old friend. "So, anything interesting happen?"

"You have absolutely no idea." Lea's eyes fell slightly

Dilan picked up a glass of ale in front of him, "We've had our own share of painful circumstances as of late."

"Sorry man." Lea smiled as Sera came walking down the stairs. "Well, I hope you guys have a better day today. I've got a date."

The others watched him go with his girlfriend. "We can't tell him what we saw."

"Agreed."

* * *

Sora and Kairi walked down to the office of Ansem the Wise; the others had gone into town. When they came into the office, Ansem looked exasperated.

Even stood on one side of the room, glaring at a woman on the other side of the room who glared back at him. This woman was tall, with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, wearing a tank top and a pair of torn jeans.

The woman's left hand rested on one of two pistols. She sighed. "Mr. Linder(2), I know that you have your doubts, but I have proof."

"Miss Croft," Even snapped, "You are wasting your life! Your father spent his life looking for this myth, and…"

"And men like your father thought he was mad and drove my father to suicide."(3)

Ansem held up a hand. "That is enough. Lara, I know your family and Even's families have never gotten along, but I happen to be very intrigued by your discovery and I always admired your father. Richard was a good scientist and I always believed him. However, if this endeavor is as dangerous as you said, then you might need some assistance." He gestured for Sora and Kairi to enter. "Sora, Kairi, meet archeologist, Lara Croft. Lara, these two are some of the Keyblade wielders you have probably heard about."

"They're younger than I thought, but if they're as strong as I've heard, I would be glad of their help."

"What's going on?" Sora looked around only for Even to roll his eyes.

"Miss Croft is planning an expedition to the cave systems below the city. She believes that the tomb of this world's founders is down there. However, the evidence says that the caves are full of monsters."

"I still say, that she has no real grounds for going down there. She is chasing after a fantasy, desperate to fix what her father couldn't do." Even grunted.

Lara glared at him before pulling a stack of papers and some torn journals from a backpack beside her. "These are records from the people who were left behind when the world fell. They hid from the Heartless in the caves. All of the records detail ancient monsters roaming the caverns." She picked up a torn and bloody journal. "This journal, by an Ido(4) who explored the caverns, details a large chamber, and the location seems to be deep below the castle." Flipping the journal open, she showed a charcoal sketch of a chamber. "This is a tomb he discovered, guarded by Tonberries. He also copied ancient scripts he found on the cavern walls. I translated them and they detail the beginning of Radiant Garden. I truly believe that this is the tomb of the founders."

Jiminy hopped off Sora's shoulder and looked at the journal. "Looks convincing to me."

"Yeah," Kairi nodded, "And it looks very interesting. Maybe we can get some of the others to come too."

"Not too many, perhaps one or two more." Lara put away all her research material. "Do you know where the Garden of Assemblage is?"

"I do."

She nodded. "Bring the others and meet me down there at around eight, tomorrow morning." Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she bowed to Ansem, glared at Even, and strode out.

Ansem smiled at the two Keybearers. "I'm glad to see you, sorry to drag you into that situation."

"It's alright. We don't mind; exploring ancient caverns and finding an old tomb sounds really cool."

"Indeed it does." The old ruler nodded. "Now, is there something I can help you with?"

Kairi nodded. "I was wondering, are there any records from before the world fell? I mean, like a census or something. I'm trying to find any trace of my old life here. I don't remember much, and what I do know is blurry. I can't even remember the names of my parents. I was hoping you might have something to help me."

The two teenagers did not notice the subtle changes in the expressions of the two men. Ansem averted his eyes, staring down at the paperwork on his desk. "I wish we had some files available, Kairi, I really do. Tron has been going through the mainframe since I came back. Only one file survived: a video. Tron is still working to repair the audio in it, but it would… be of no use to you. We think Xehanort kept it only because he wanted to relive him killing two people who got in his way."

"Did you, know them?"

Now they saw the pain and agony in Ansem and Even's faces. "They were, old friends, people we cared dearly for. Now, could we please stop discussing it?"

"Yes, sorry." Sora frowned. "Well, thanks, Ansem, and I'm sorry for your loss." He took Kairi's hand and the two left the room.

* * *

"So, you want two of us to join you guys and this Lara Croft chick on some crazy adventure?"

"Yeah," Sora shoved some pasta into his mouth. "To go find the tomb of the founders of Radiant Garden."

Donald smiled. "Hey, I'd like to come."

"Why don't I come along too?" Goofy piped up. "It'll be the three of us again, but this time with Kairi too."

"Then it's settled. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi will go."

"I would like to go as well." Jiminy piped up. "All this is very interesting, and I am intrigued by it."

Riku leaned back, sipping on his drink. "Well, you guys have fun. I'm sure the rest of us won't be bored; we'll find something to do."

* * *

Sora and the other three went down to the Garden of Assemblage. Lara Croft stood by a hole in the floor, a pulley system set up, ready to lower them down, hung over the hole.

The woman looked up before slinging a bow over her shoulder. "There you are, right on time."

"Hey, Lara. This is Donald and Goofy, they'll be joining us."

She nodded. "I've got some food if someone wants to carry that pack. I don't know long we will be down there. Directly below us is a camp where some survivors who hid there; I found all my research material there. They blocked it off from where the monsters are."

"What monsters are down there?"

"There are some that will avoid us and only a few we have to worry about. The ones we should be worried about are the Ahrimans, Flans, Goblins, and the Tonberries.(5) I'll explain more as we go down." The girl placed a hand on the pulley. "Who wants to go down first?"

* * *

Riku left the others to find something to do; he went down to Hara's café, deciding to check on his friend and get his free cup of coffee. As he approached, he could see people filling the small café. "Guess she got popular."

As he stepped inside, he saw Hara bustling about, alone. She noticed him and gave a wave. "Hi Riku, sorry, I'm busy."

As she ran by again, Riku grabbed her arm. "Hey, what can I do to help?"

"Seriously?"

"Yes, what can I do?"

Hara ran to the back, grabbing a half-apron and tossed it to him. "Would you mind taking the customer's order while I cook?"

"Not at all."

"You're a lifesaver!" She grinned. "My new employees won't be here until noon. Thank you so much!"

"No problem. Let's get to work."

* * *

Kairi looked around the small village underground. Clothes, toys, weapons, lay strewn about the small area. Off to the side, a small plot of land lay dotted with crosses.

"This place is so sad."

"Why would it have been sealed off by the Garden of Assemblage?" Sora picked up a basket filled with nuts.

Lara walked up to a barricade, looking for weak spots. "The records indicate that a man named Xemnas came and sealed them inside by building the garden atop it. Why he did it, they do not know."

"That's terrible!"

"Yeah." Lara pulled a panel off the barricade. "Through here."

The four followed and they came into a long tunnel, which widened up into a massive cavern. Other tunnels branched in all direction. "I have a map made by the man who found the tomb before. Keep your guard up for monsters. Let's get going." The woman pulled out a glow stick and they all moved off into the darkness.

* * *

For hours they walked, their only interruption being the monsters. Flying monsters with one eye and sharp teeth: Ahrimans, gruesome slimes with monstrous teeth: Flans, and little green men with long ears, dressed in hats and ratted clothes: Goblins, attacked them at every turn.

However, in moments of silence and peace, Jiminy looked over at the archeologist. "Lara, how'd you start liking this kind of thing?"

"My father. He spent his life trying to prove that this place exists, with people like Susumu Linder calling him mad and destroying his great reputation."

"Linder?" Sora cocked his head. "That's the name you called Even."

She nodded. "Susumu was Even's father. Now you understand why Even and I don't get along." Lara let out a long sigh. "When the world fell, I was rescued by Shinra agents. I lived with their archeologists and learned from them. The only things I had from here were my father's notes and research on the Founder's Tomb. I studied those files and vowed that when I returned home, I would finish his work, so here I am."

"I bet your father would be real proud of ya, Lara."

"Thank you, Goofy."

* * *

"Man, I'm starving!" Ven groaned.

Aqua patted his head with a smile. "Come on, I heard about this new café nearby. Let's go there."

"Sounds like a plan," Lea stretched. "We've been sitting on our butts all day."

Mickey led the way and they all went down to a café on the other side of town. As they walked inside, all of them stopped. Riku stood in front of them, wearing an apron, with a notebook in his hand. The boy blinked. "Uh, why are you guys here?"

"For lunch, but what are you doing here… in an apron?"

"Helping a friend." The boy led them to a table.

The four sat down, and Lea smirked. "Must be some friend."

Just then, Hara walked over. "Hey Riku, sorry, but table five needs more to drink."

"I'll take care of it." Hara walked off and Riku turned back to his friends. "So, what do you want?"

"I want details." Lea laughed. "That's a female friend, and she's cute. How'd you meet her?"

Riku glared at him. "I'll give you time to think about what you want to eat and drink. I don't want to hear a thing about Hara. I'll be back in a minute."

"Hara?" Lea laughed as Riku walked away. "Oh, I'm never letting him hear the end of this."

"Oh, leave him alone, Lea."

"I think it's funny too, Lea." Ven grinned. "But, I'm going to keep quiet, until Sora gets back."

"Ven…"

"Excuse me." Hara came walking over to their table. "You're friends with Riku, right?" They nodded. "Great! He's been a life saver today, so you guys get a fifty percent discount on your meal today."

"Nice!"

"Thank you."

The café owner grinned. "Well, enjoy your meal."

Everyone thanked her and they were all so excited that they didn't see the man in black watching them through the window.

Lara looked at her watch. "It's getting late, but we're not far from the tomb. If we make it, we might be able to return tomorrow."

"Great!" Sora put his arm around Kairi as they walked.

Donald and Goofy smirked as they watched them.

As they came around a corner, the ground sloped upwards into a humongous cavern. Columns of limestone stretched from the ceiling to floor, crystals glittered in every wall. In the center of the room stood crystalline coffins with quartz monuments behind them. The walls were ornamented with drawings and writing in a strange language.

"This is it!"

Lara ran her hand along the writing. "This is the ancient language of Radiant Garden. I can't make out the full translation, but this word here, it says 'founder', and this one over here says 'Warrior'."

"Come on, let's go." Donald stepped towards the coffins, but Lara grabbed him by the back of the shirt. "What!? It's right there!?"

"But so are they." She pointed.

Goofy cocked his head. "What are those things?"

Little green creatures, dressed in brown robes, walked around, carrying lanterns and knives. The archaeologist stared intently at the creatures. "Those are Tonberries. They may not look like much, but they are extremely dangerous."(6)

"And they've spotted us."

The four summoned their weapons as Lara pulled two pistols from the holsters. "Lara, how do we beat these things?"

"Don't let them reach us. That's all we can hope for."

Ten of the little creatures came walking slowly towards them. They took every bullet, spell, and other attack but the Tonberries kept coming. One of them slowly approached Sora and Kairi; the boy pulled the girl behind him, but the little monster walked towards them and stopped, lowering its knife. It turned around and grunted slightly. The other Tonberries stopped, glancing at Sora and Kairi.

"What the heck is going on…?"

"I have no idea," Lara watched the monsters back away. "Come on, let's get to the coffins." Jogging up to the crystal coffins, they looked inside.

The skeletal figures that lay inside shimmered with magic and the crystals showed how the people had looked before death. On the left was a woman with purple hair and on the right was a man with red hair.(7)

"I wonder why the Tonberries let us pass." Lara ran her hand along the coffins. "These are beautiful, and the craftsmanship is wonderful."

Kairi looked down at the woman's coffin. "Who is she? She seems familiar…"

"Hmm," Sora walked to the quartz monument. "I think this says her name, but I can't read it."

"I'll have to work on translating all of this later," Lara smiled. "This is just… amazing. My father was right. Now I have proof."

"Sorry friend, but disturbing Lady Akira and Lord Yoshi's tomb." A little white fox with a horn on its head came from the shadows.(8) "The Tonberries only allowed you passage because the blood of the ancestors runs through some of your veins. If you ever return again, they will attack."

Lara looked down at the coffin, eyes riddled with sadness. "At least I found it, and all of you are witness to this."

"And I have it all recorded." The cricket held up his journal.

"Yes, but…" Kairi looked down at the coffins. "Who are these people?"

The little fox looked up at her. "They are the founders of Radiant Garden: Fuyu Akira and Hotaru Yoshi. On all sides are their spouses and children. Now, the Tonberries have been merciful, but they want you to leave. Now go."

The fox vanished, leaving them alone. Goofy smiled, "Well, we better get goin'"

"Yeah, we gotta get going before the Tonberries come back after us."

Lara looked back at the beautiful tomb before nodding. "Yes, this place will be left as it is."

* * *

The next morning, Riku went down to the café. Hara stood at the entrance while her new employees bustled about; she smiled as she saw Riku. "Hey there! Here for your coffee?"

"Yep."

As he sat down, Hara brought him the coffee and sat beside him. "Hey, sorry if you got embarrassed yesterday in front of your friends."

"It's no problem, I know how to deal with them." He sipped his coffee. "Hey, I don't want to give you the wrong idea, Hara... I-I mean… you're pretty and all, but I'm not looking for a relationship right now."(9)

The girl smiled. "It's totally alright. I understand. I'm not looking for one either, but I'd love to be friends with you for now."

"Same."

"Great," Hara stood up. "But, you're still my favorite customer, and for helping me yesterday, this is for you." She laid a piece of paper on the table. "It's a voucher for a free meal for you and a friend."

"Well, thank you, Hara."

"You're welcome, Riku."

* * *

Ven and Aqua sat on the edge of a fountain ledge, staring into the sky. The young woman looked over at the boy. "Ven, I was wondering about that girl we saw in Bill's bubble. You called her Naminé; who is she?"

"She's Kairi's Nobody, and she has powers over Sora's memories."

Aqua nodded. "Ah, now I remember, when they told me everything, they mentioned her. But, how do you know her?"

"I was inside Sora's heart and she had to go into his heart to repair his memories, so we met…"

* * *

 _Ven lay on his Station of Awakening, resting. He knew what had happened to Sora's memories, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to help Sora, but he couldn't do anything. However, he knew that his memory was getting better._

 _The blackness around him cracked a little and from it, she appeared. The blonde girl walked through, sketching on a little notepad, not noticing the boy nearby. When she finally looked up, her indigo eyes meeting his blue ones. She gave a small shriek, dropping her pencil._

 _"_ _Hi there." Ven picked up the pencil, holding it out to her. "What are you doing here?"_

 _"_ _What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" She clutched the notepad to her chest. "This is Sora's heart, no one should be in here."_

 _"_ _Then what are you doing here?"_

* * *

"She explained everything. She would sit with me and repair Sora's memories. We'd talk for hours and hours. She and I became close friends after a while."

Aqua raised an eyebrow. "Seems like you've got a little crush actually."

"Do not!" Ven blushed, covering his face with his hands.

Aqua laughed. "Whatever you say."

They sat together for a long time, in silence, until Ven sighed again. "Seeing Terra and the master in that bubble, it made me finally want to know the truth. Aqua, what happened to Master Eraqus? I only know that Terra fought him to save me. I don't know what happened next."(10)

The young woman rubbed her shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Master Xehanort used Terra to strike the master down."

"No…" Ven shook his head. "I had a feeling… I mean, Vanitas told me that he was dead, but I didn't want to believe him."

"I'm sorry."

"Excuse me," Ienzo approached. I hope I'm not interrupting, but I wanted to inform you that Sora and the others have returned."

"Alright…"

* * *

"It was amazing," Lara smiled. "I knew my father was right, and I proved it."

Even sighed. "I guess you were right. I apologize for what I said, Miss Croft."

"It's fine…"

Mickey looked over at Donald and Goofy. "That tomb does sound very amazing, and I am glad that none of you were injured."

"Yeah."

Ven grinned. "Man, I wish I could've gone with you. I've always liked history and finding the tomb of the founders of a world is amazing."

Ienzo coughed into his hand. "Um, Lara, if you make another expedition down into the caverns, would you mind if I… accompanied you?"

"I would not mind at all Mr. Corrigan."(11)

The young man smiled at her. "Thank you, Lara. Now, if you need me, I'll be at my apartment going over my research."

As she left, Lea lightly elbowed Ienzo in the side. "Trying to get a smart, science-minded girl?"

"Lea, be quiet."

The others laughed. "Nothing wrong with having a crush, Ienzo."

"Be quiet!"

Everyone laughed again, only for a sly voice to join in. "Well, it sure sounds like a party in here."

All eyes turned to where Braig stood, leaning against the doorframe, his golden eye twinkling in the light. Everyone tensed, glaring at him. "Braig!? How dare you enter this place!"

"Oh, take a chill pill, I'm just bringing an old friend on a grand tour."

As he stepped to the side, an old man, bald, hunched over, arms behind his back, came into the room. Aqua, Ven, Mickey, and Riku all instantly tensed. It took the others a moment, but they all realized exactly who that old man was.

"Xehanort!?"

"And here you all are," His old eyes looked around. "I see that you are heeding my advice and are drawing your forces around you. I am here to do the same."

"If you're here for Sora, we won't let you have him."

Master Xehanort looked directly at Riku. "At this time, I am here for another." The old man vanished in a Warp spell.

"Augh!"

They all turned around to see Xehanort pinning Ven to the wall, his dark Keyblade stuck into the boy's chest. "VEN!"

Ven screamed as Xehanort drew back his blade, a heart coming with it. Ven slumped down, clutching his chest. All this happened in a few short seconds.

The heart on the tip of Xehanort's Keyblade writhed with darkness. The old master let the heart float on its own as a body of darkness began to form around it. "And now, he has returned."

"No…" Ven looked up. "Not him, not Vanitas…"

The dark body formed a black coat around it. The head that sat atop was nothing more than a black shape with red eyes. The eyes blinked and the head began to take on a shape. Pale skin and golden eyes took shape. The rest of the blackness took shape as hair, black and spiky.

A moment later, there he stood, and everyone else stood with shocked and utterly horrified expressions.

"What is going on!?"

The one called Vanitas was almost an exact copy of Sora. Vanitas let out a loud laugh. "Didn't expect that, did you?"

* * *

 **Well, that was an interesting one.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this one!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This is a scene based on a scene that Yamichaos came up with.

(2) Even's last name, I used a last name generator to pick it. 

(3) I'm going by the new game universe.

(4) Gypsy people of Radiant Garden.

(5) Some typical Final Fantasy monsters for you guys.

(6) If you play Final Fantasy, you know what little devils those cute creatures are.

(7) If you read my last story, you know these two.

(8) Carbuncle from FF15.

(9) Aw, Riku being awkward around girls is adorable.

(10) Ven never knew what happened to Eraqus.

(11) Again, Ienzo's last name came from the last name generator. 

* * *

**A Few Choice Verses**

In the last few weeks, things have taken a crazy turn. So much hate is being shown across the world. I will not use this to take sides, but I will talk to everyone on any side of any argument.

I admit that we have problems, but yelling, violence, and other such actions are going to do nothing except stir up more flames of hatred.

There is a solution to this, and I have two verses for it. The first verse is something even non-Christians have heard of. We call it the "golden rule". It first showed up in Matthew 7:12, which reads, " _So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets._ " The way we usually hear it said is "Do unto others, what you would have them do unto you". If we just did that, things would probably be a lot better, but people have a hard time thinking of the interests and feelings of others, especially when they are angry.

The second verse I have is Proverbs 15: 1-4, " _A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit._ "

This will be a short devo, but I want each and every one of you to think on these verses and how you could use them, especially if you are one dealing with one of the situations that our world is facing now.


	12. Chapter 12: Paris- Kittens and Butlers

**Hi everyone!**

 **Two things:**

 **1\. This is a MUSICAL CHAPTER!**

 **2\. I fell out of an old habit, and I shouldn't have. You guys are what really matter when it comes to my writing. So, thank you, everyone, for favoriting and following this story.**

 **Thank you** **Adrimaries** **,** **BarianHunterAlpha** **,** **Benpage11** **,** **DaniPotterLovesGod** **,** **DarkRebel01** **,** **Fiery-Guardian** **,** **HailToCale,** **KaisakiTokura** **,** **Luchx** **,** **Mixt Number XV** **,** **NaruSaku fan in Kentucky** **,** **Neo-Gojira 54** **,** **Nintendoman01** **,** **Power Master** **,** **ReneBlade9** **,** **Serasana Ti Rhea** **,** **Solartiger** **,** **Spaded Ace18** **,** **Spiderfan626** **,** **The Keeper of Worlds** **,** **YamiChaos27** **,** **animebella09** **,** **clbailey12** **,** **cyberman prime** **,** **goddragonking** **,** **grimlock987** **,** **timbo8** **, and** **tl34lt12** **for favoriting!**

 **Thank you** **Artax Cooper** **,** **BarianHunterAlpha** **,** **DarkRebel01** **,** **Defender31415** **,** **Faylda** **,** **HailToCale** **,** **InfernalFox** **,** **Luchux** **,** **MidnightExcalibur** **,** **Nintendoman01** **,** **Power Master** **,** **PrincessKairi818** **,** **RangerDimitri** **,** **ReneBlade9** **,** **Serasana Ti Rhea** **,** **Solartiger** **,** **Spaded Ace18** **,** **Spiderfan626** **,** **TerraKH** **,** **The Writer Bot** **,** **YamiChaos27** **,** **animebella09** **,** **clbailey12** **,** **ctran03931** **,** **cyberman prime** **,** **grimlock987** **,** **limeemil1** **,** **soragirl13** **,** **stardust902** **,** **timbo8** **,** **tl34lt12** **, and** **xprtmover** **for following!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Paris- Kittens and Butlers**

* * *

Everyone looked at the black-haired boy, eyes wide with shock. Sasuke came running into the room, he skidded to a stop at the sight of the boy.

"What is going on?"

Ansem took a deep breath, before glaring at the old man. "Xehanort! Leave now!"

"Ha!" Vanitas laughed. "You're Ansem the Wise, correct? Nice name, for a total fool!"

"No kidding," Braig snickered.

"Who are you!?" Sora summoned Key to the Kingdom.

Xehanort sighed. "Ventus can explain all. I came for what I wanted." His golden eyes fixed on Sora as a dark corridor. "I may not need you anymore, boy, but I want you to understand something…"

"You're not getting away!" Lea leapt at the old man only for a pulse of darkness to throw him away.

"Sora," Xehanort continued. "Know that because of you, others will suffer. Now, come Vanitas."

"Get back here!" Everyone charged, but blue monsters with red eyes blocked their path. The three in the coats vanished into the darkness.

All of them stood in silence before Sora turned to Ven, who still sat on the ground. "Ven… who was that? Why does he look like me?"

"Well, it's a long story." The boy kept his eyes fixed on the ground as Ienzo helped him stand up. "He… His name is Vanitas, and he's me. Well, he's the dark part of my heart. And, as for why he looks like you… your heart saved mine by sharing your light with it, and when that happened, your heart touched him too."

Everyone stood in silence, taking in this latest information before Ansem sat down at his desk. "I can't believe Xehanort just walked in like that."

"He's getting bolder," Riku sighed. "We can't let him get like that again."

"Sora, you ok?"

The boy stood, face turned away from the others. "I wonder if he meant it… that others would suffer because I didn't go with him."

"Sora, don't let it get to you. He's just trying to get under your skin." Jiminy patted the boy's shoulder from where he sat.

The spiky-haired boy didn't look convinced but nodded all the same. "I guess we should get going and try and find Xehanort in the different worlds and stop him."

"If that's the case, then you should get moving. If he's becoming so bold as to walk into this place, then you need to find him quickly." Ansem smiled. "I'll have the ship prepared for you."

The group nodded and moved about, preparing for their departure. Kairi walked down the hall, smiling as she saw Lara Croft. "Lara! Hey!"

"Kairi?" The archeologist looked over. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if you could help me," the girl bit her lip slightly. "I used to live here when I was a child, but I have no memories of my life here or family. I was wondering if you might be able to look and find out something about my past?"

The woman nodded. "You helped me with my expedition, so I will help you. Next time you come here, hopefully, I'll have something for you."

"Thank you, Lara."

* * *

Sora flew the gummi ship through interspace, still bothered by what Xehanort had said. "Who will suffer? Who will my actions hurt?" The beeping of the ship's radar split through his thoughts. "Oh, a new world…" He pressed the intercom button. "Guys, we made it to a new world!"

"Coming Sora!"

* * *

"I knew this world would be trouble!"

"Oh, chill out Lea! It's not so bad," Kairi said. She came out from under a small wooden bridge but not as a human. Kairi was now a red Burmese cat.

Lea looked himself over glumly, "Did I ever mention I hate cats." He hissed as his form as a red Turkish Angora cat.

"Hey! Cats are the best! I happen to have a kitten; her name is Ginger(1)," Sora grinned at his brown Selkirk Rex cat form.

"Your parents kept that mangy old cat?" Riku came over as a silver Cornish Rex cat.

Ven, now a golden-furred Savanna cat with brown, black, and red spots, licked his paw. "Of course. His mom and dad wouldn't give that kitten away. Sora was the one who found it after all."

"This is strange," Aqua said, looking down at herself, now as a blue Russian Blue cat.

Donald huffed. "I don't mind the form changing usually, but I hate this… I do not like cats!" He shuddered at his form as an Aegean cat with white and blue fur.

Goofy laughed at himself as a black American Bobtail cat. "Oh, it's not that bad Donald."

"Yeah, I don't mind so much." Mickey chuckled, looking down at his form as a black Bombay cat.

"Says you!"

Sora and Kairi laughed. Suddenly Kairi stiffened and began laughing. "Jiminy! He's a flea. He's whispering in my ear, and he's not happy."

As they prepared to move out, they heard a singing voice.

They turned and saw a mangy looking orange cat come trotting up the road, singing. While the others watched him, Kairi noticed a basket under the stone bridge the orange tomcat walked on. A beautiful white Persian cat with a golden collar came out of the basket and looked at him.

The Tomcat saw Sora and co. but paid them no mind, but when he saw the Persian who had come out from under the bridge, he came closer and began to sing to her…(2)

 _"Tellin' my friends of the social elite_

 _Or some cute cat I happen to meet_

 _That I'm_

 _Abraham de Lacy_

 _Giuseppe Casey_

 _Thomas O'Malley_

 _O'Malley the alley cat!"_

The whole time he sang he climbed into a tree and showered pink flowers over her.

"Why, monsieur," she laughed, "you name seems to cover all of Europe."

O'Malley continued with his song…

 _"_ Well of course. I'm the only cat of my kind _._

 _I'm the king of the highway_

 _Prince of the boulevard_

 _Duke of the avant-garde_

 _The world is my backyard_

 _So if you're goin' my way_

 _That's the road you wanna seek_

 _Calcutta to Rome or home sweet home_

 _In Paris_

 _Magnifique, you all."_

Now the entire Keyblade gang noticed the basket, and the three kittens poking their heads out from the basket: a white Persian with a pink bow around her neck, a black kitten with a red ribbon around his neck, and an orange kitten with a blue bowtie.

The orange kitten looked at the O'Malley and grinned, "O boy! An alley cat!"

"Shh! Listen!" the white kitten giggled.

" _I only got myself_

 _And this big old world_

 _But I sip that cup of life_

 _With my fingers curled_

 _I don't worry what road to take_

 _I don't have to think of that_

 _Whatever I take is the road I make_

 _It's the road of life, make no mistake_

 _For me,_

 _Yeah, Abraham de Lacy,_

 _Giuseppe Casey_

 _Thomas O'Malley_

 _O'Malley the alley cat!_

 _That's right, and I'm very proud of that._

 _Yeah!"_

The Persian laughed and clapped along with the Keybladers, "Bravo! Very good, you are a great talent!"

"Oh, thank you and what might your names be?" O'Malley said with a smile. "My name's Sora and this is Kairi, Lea, Riku, Ven, Aqua, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy."

The Persian looked at the tomcat and answered sheepishly, "My name is Duchess."

"Duchess", O'Malley completely ignored the Keyblade gang, "Beautiful, love it, and those eyes… ooh. Why your eyes are like sapphires, sparkling so bright, they make the morning… radiant… and light."

The little white kitten sighed, "How romantic…"

"Sissy stuff," the black kitten groaned.

Duchess batted her eyes, "Oh, c'est tres jolie, monsieur."

"Very poetic," Kairi giggled.

Duchess nodded, "But it's not quite Shakespeare."

"Of course not. That's pure O'Malley, baby. Right off the cuff, yeah. I got a million of 'em."

Duchess waved a paw, "Oh, no more, please."

"Yes," Ven agreed in a faint voice, "no more. We get enough mush with Sora and Kairi around the gummi ship." Riku, Lea, Donald, and Goofy snickered while Kairi and Sora glared Ventus down.

"Please, I really am in a great deal of trouble," the Persian spoke up.

The Keybearer's ears perked up at this, and O'Malley stepped in front of them. "Trouble? Helping beautiful dame… uh, damsels in distress is my specialty. Now, what's the hang-up, your ladyship?"

"Well, it is most important that I get back to Paris, so if you would be so kind and show me the way."

"Well," shrugged, "we don't kn…"

The Orange tomcat cut him off, "Show you the way? Perish the thought! We shall fly to Paris on a magic carpet, side by side, with the stars as our guide, just we two."

"Ooh," the white kitten came running up to them, "that would be wonderful!"

O'Malley's eyes widened, "Three?" Suddenly the other two kittens ran up, "Four, Five!"

"Oh yes, monsieur O'Malley, these are my children."

"Oh, how sweet…" The tomcat looked over at Sora and the others, "I suppose you guys want to make it fourteen?"

Out of the blue, a group of Mad Dog Heartless popped up. The group of cats huddled together while the warriors summoned their weapons in their mouths. It didn't take them long to wipe out the enemies.

"Uh," the orange cat gave up, "You guys better come as extra protection for Duchess and the kittens."

The black kitten hissed, "Hey we have names too!"

"Then do tell."

"My name is Berlioz."

The orange kitten lumbered up to O'Malley, "I'm Toulouse, and I'm a tough alley cat too!"

The white kitten, instead of going to O'Malley, went to Kairi, "Bonjour, I'm Marie. You're the prettiest cat I've ever seen." Kairi bent down, picked Marie up in her mouth, and set her beside her mother.

"Now look guys," O'Malley had gone onto the road atop the bridge, "If I said magic carpet, magic carpet it's gonna be. And, it's gonna stop for passengers right… here. Using his claw, he drew an X in the dirt.

"Oh boy," Berlioz exclaimed, "We're gonna fly after all!" Ven rolled his eyes at this; a cat couldn't make them fly.

Aqua was also skeptical, "More like a flight into the fantasy."

"No, no, no, guys! Now you just hide over there and leave the rest up to J. Thomas O'Malley," he climbed into a tree that hung over the road. The group went under the bridge and waited. Soon a low roar began to approach; Sora poked his head out and saw a truck driving their way. The tomcat in the tree called down to them, "One magic carpet coming up!"

"A magic carpet," Sora whispered to Donald and Goofy, "try a truck!"

As the car drove under O'Malley's perch, he dropped down onto the windshield and gave his loudest screech. "SACRE BLEU!" The driver slammed on the breaks and O'Malley leapt off the hood, into the brush. "SAPRISTI! STUPID CAT! BRAINLESS LUNATIC!" As the man began to restart the car, Duchess hopped in as Sora and the gang lifted the kittens up and jumped in after them.

"Livin' on the edge, nice," Lea smirked.

"Why, Mister O'Malley," Duchess gasped, "You could have lost your life!"

"Like Lea said, 'livin' on the edge', but it was my pleasure entirely." The truck began to move, but O'Malley stayed behind. "Aloha, Auf wiersehen, Bon soir, Saranora, and all those goodbye things, fellows."

Marie went to the edge of the truck bed and waved back, "Sayonara mister…" She lost her balance and tumbled out of the back.

"MARIE!"

The Tomcat dashed over, picked the kitten up in his mouth, and hopped into the truck. Duchess snuggled against her daughter, "Oh Marie, are you all right?"

"Yes, mama."

Riku gave the panting O'Malley a sly look, "Haven't we met before?"

"Yes, I believe we have," the tomcat returned the look.

"Oh," Duchess sighed, "and I'm so glad we did."

"Thank you, Mr. O'Malley, for saving my life!"

"No trouble at all, little princess, and when we get to Paris, I'll show you all the time of your lives."

Duchess shook her head, "Oh I'm so sorry, but, well, we just couldn't."

"Why not?" Mickey asked.

"You see, my mistress will be so worried about us.".

O'Malley rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, humans don't really worry too much about their pets."

"Oh, now that's not true," Sora snapped, thinking of his pet kitten.

"Sora is right," the Persian continued, "You just don't understand. She loves us very much. Poor madam… in that big mansion, all alone. In all our days, in tender ways, her love for us was shown. And so, you see, we can't leave her alone. She'd always say that we're the greatest treasure she could own. Because with us she never felt alone."

Ven got in front of O'Malley, "No matter what you say, we are taking them back to their owner."

"Alright," the cat gave in, "If you mean that much to her and her to you we'll go."

As they bickered on, Goofy spent the time poking around the parcels in the back of the truck. His head popped up as he exclaimed, "Anyone for breakfast!"

"What breakfast?"

"Where is it?"

Goofy threw off a rug to reveal a can of milk. "Right here!"

Berlioz cried out, "Look, mama, look!" Using his claws, Sora took the lid off, and the kittens began to drink.

The driver looked into his rearview mirror and saw the gang of cats in the back, drinking his milk. Again, he slammed on the breaks, "SAPRISTI!" He got out, and as he came around the corner, Lea jumped on his head and hissed. The driver screamed in fury, "SACRE BLEU! THIEVES! ROBBERS! MANGY TRAMPS!" The group ran off the road as the man chunked an assortment of objects at them. With a huff, he got back inside his truck and drove off.

"What a jerk," Lea hissed.

O'Malley shrugged, "Well, some humans are like that. I've learned to live with them."

Toulouse jumped onto the road, "I'll get 'em!" He began to hiss and spit in the funniest looking way.

Ven pulled him back with a paw, "Cool it, little tiger."

"That guy's dynamite!" Donald quacked.

"But," Toulouse wined, "he called us tramps."

Duchess sighed, "Oh, I'll be so glad when we get back home."

"We better get going, because Paris is a long way off," Goofy said as he began to walk in the direction the truck went. They all went along until they came to a railway that crossed a bridge.

The orange kitten gasped and cried out, "Gee whiz! Look at that bridge! Come on, let's play train!" The kittens ran over to the bridge and hopped on the rail with Toulouse in front, with Berlioz behind him, and then came Marie.

"You kids be careful."

"Marie's the caboose," yelled Toulouse as Marie glared him down. "All aboard!" The three began to walk along the rail making train noises. "Choo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo -choo. Whoo-whoo! Choo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo. Whoo-whoo!" Then Toulouse took over, "Clickety-clickety-clickety-clickety."

The entire group jumped at a real train whistle echoed around them, and the tracks began to shake with the roar of an oncoming train.

"Oh no!"

The kittens ran under Aqua's paws, "All right, now don't panic!"

"Down under here," O'Malley yelled. The group ran under the bridge and hung on by their claws as the train passed overhead. They all sighed in relief as the train left.

"MAMA!" The group looked down, only to see little Marie floundering in the water.

"Marie!"

"Marie, here we come!" Both Sora and O'Malley plunged into the river after the kitten. The rest of the gang ran down the river bank after them as O'Malley caught Marie, and he and Sora clung onto a drifting log.

Duchess ran onto a branch that hung over the water, "Thomas! Sora, up here!" They tossed Marie up to Duchess and continued to float downstream.

"O'Malley, Sora! Hang on!"

"Don't worry!" yelled the Selkirk Rex, "We'll see you downstream!" They floundered down the river, trying to stay afloat.

* * *

Sora and O'Malley floated along before the two grabbed onto a willow branch, trying to pull themselves up. They became distracted when two geese swam towards them, giggling.

The goose wearing a pink bonnet smiled widely, "Sirs, sirs? You are most fortunate we happened along."

"Yes, we're here to help you." The one with the bluebonnet chortled

Sora, with the willow branch still in his mouth, muttered, "Oh no, back off ladies, we're fine."

"First," Abigail told them, "you must gain confidence by striking out on your own." She swam over to the willow branch.

"Go away!" O'Malley, "we're trying' to get to shore!"

"You'll never learn to swim properly with that willow branch in your mouths," the one with the pink bonnet chuckled.

"Indeed not."

As she swam up to the willow branch, Sora and O'Malley had just gotten their hind legs onto a large rock in the river. The goose smiled, "Snip, snip! Here we go."

The two Tomcats opened their mouths and cried, "NO DON'T DO THAT!" They both began to sink and splashed around, attempting to swim.

"You're both doing splendidly!"

"Yes, and don't worry about form, it will come later."

"They take to water like fishes," one of the geese giggled, "don't they? A very enthusiastic…" While trying to swim O'Malley grabbed at their tail feathers, causing them to shriek.

"No!" one exclaimed, "Now this is no time for fun and games!" Sora and O'Malley sunk beneath the surface. The geese laughed, but as they stared at the bubbles coming from the two cats their laughter faded. Their faces grew serious, "Gracious me, you don't suppose…"

"Oh yes, yes, I do! Bottoms Up!" Both dipped their heads and necks under, they popped back up and exclaimed, "DEEPER!" The geese dove all the way under the water and came up with Sora and O'Malley on their backs.

By now the others came running up to the bank, scanning the river for the two Tomcats. "Look!" yelled Toulouse, "There they are!"

When the geese got to the bank Riku and Lea pulled the two onto the shore. Kairi rubbed her face against Sora's soaking wet one, "Oh, Sora! You're alright!" When all the others all turned their attention away from them she licked his face. He blinked a few times before returning the kiss.(3)

"Oh Thomas! Thank goodness you're safe," Duchess sighed in relief.

Ven asked the orange tomcat, "Need any help, O'Malley?"

"Help?" he gasped, "I've had all the help I can take!"

"What about you Sora?" asked Donald.

"I'm with Thomas!"

Riku bowed his head to the two geese, "Ladies, thank you for rescuing our two friends."

"Of course, young sir. But first, introductions."

"Yes, we British like to keep thinks proper."

"Now, I am Amelia Gabble, and this is my sister…"

"Miss Abigail Gabble."

"We're twin sisters."

"You might say we're related." Both geese giggled. "We're on a holiday!"

"For a walking tour of France."

"Swimming, some of the way."

"On water, of course!" They again broke into a fit of laughter.

Duchess turned to the soaking wet tomcats. "Thomas, this is Amelia and Abigail Gabble."

"Yea honey," he scowled, "Get those two web-footed lifeguards outta here!"

Riku cuffed him sharply, "Be nice to the two ladies who just saved your life!"

"Ok," O'Malley growled, "Hiya, chicks." Everyone glared at the tomcat, even Sora, who somewhat agreed with him.

The twin geese began cackling with laughter again, "We're not chickens, we're geese!"

"No," Thomas said sarcastically, "I thought you were swans." The entire group face pawed, while Duchess gave him a look.

Amelia giggled, "Oh, flatterer!"

"Your husband is very charming and very handsome," Abigail told Duchess.

"Well, uh, you see…" O'Malley rolled over, "I, I'm not exactly her husband."

"What about those two?" Amelia asked, pointing to Sora and Kairi who were lying sitting very close together.

Donald and Goofy laughed as the two cats separated, Kairi stuttered, "No, no, we're not together."

"What did you mean not your husband?" Amelia asked O'Malley, "You either are or you're not."

"Alright, I'm not."

Amelia leaned over to her sister, "It's scandalous."

"He's nothing but a cad," Abigail agreed.

"Absolutely, possibly a reprobate."

"A roué, his eyes are too close together."

"Shifty too."

"And look at that crooked smile."

"His chin is weak too."

"Obviously a philanderer who trifles with unsuspecting women's hearts."

Marie batted her eyes, "How romantic!"

"Not really," Muttered Goofy.

Duchess held up her paws, "Please, please, let me explain! Thomas and these others are good friends of ours. They're helping us get to…"

"Come on Duchess, Sora, guys, let's get out of here." O'Malley began to walk off, "Well girls, see ya around. We're on our way to Paris."

Abigail smiled widely, "Oh how nice! We're going to Paris ourselves."

"Why don't you join us?" Amelia suggested.

Mickey smiled, "That sounds nice!"

"Oh, no," Sora and Thomas moaned. The two geese put everyone in a specific order; the twin geese in front, Sora Riku and Kairi next, then Ven Lea Toulouse and Berlioz, after them came Duchess and Marie, and last was Thomas.

They began to walk, and Amelia turned her head back, "When we get to Paris you must meet Uncle Waldo."

"Waldo?" Riku cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, he's our uncle. We are to meet him at Le Petit Café," Amelia giggled.

Duchess gasped in delight, "Le Petit Café? Oh, that's that famous restaurant."

"Ah, c'est magnifique," Lea declared in a phony French accent, making the entire gang smile as the strange group of cats and geese went down the road to Paris.

* * *

The group walked up to Le Petit Café just in time to see a commotion going on in the restaurant kitchen. The chef and a large bird were chasing each other around. "Sacre bleu! Ow! Oh! He bit my finger! Get out! Go! Go! Get out! Scram!" A goose ran outside and landed on his tail. "Good riddance!"

The goose picked up a ragged green top hat and stuck it on his head, giving a loud hiccup. Abigail smiled, "Why, why, it's Uncle Waldo!"(4)

The old goose noticed the gang, "Ahh, Abigail! Amelia! My two favorite nooses!"

"Uncle Waldo," laughed Amelia, "I do believe you've been drinking."

Abigail noticed Waldo's missing tail feathers, "Oh dear! What happened to your lovely tail feathers?"

"Girls, it's outrageous! Why you won't believe what they tried to do to your poor old Uncle Waldo [hiccup] look at this!" He went over to a sign on the wall and read, "Prime country goose a la provencal, stuffed with chestnuts, and basted in white wine [hiccup]."

"Basted?" O'Malley questioned.

Lea agreed, "He's been marinated in it!"

"Dreadful," Waldo whined, "Being British, I would have preferred sherry." The trio of geese busted out laughing. "SHERRY! SHERRY!"

"Oh," Amelia giggled, "Oh, oh, oh Uncle Waldo, you're just too much."

Sora leaned over towards Kairi and Aqua, "You mean he's had too much."

"Abigail, Abigail!" She leaned over to hear her sister whisper, "We best get Uncle Waldo to bed."

"Why, I say there, now, what's all the whis-whispering about, huh?" The twins tried to hush their uncle, but he grew louder, "Now, now, now, now, girls, girls! Don't shush your old Uncle Waldo! Why you'll, you'll wake up the whole neighborhood!" The girls continued to shush him but he yelled out, "WHOOPEE! NEIGHBORHOOD!"

Abigail and Amelia took their uncle and began to take him away, "Come to sleep, Uncle Waldo."

"Oh, yes, I think we'd better be going."

"Oh, righto, girls! Birds of a feather must [hiccup] together."

"That's stick together!" They began to walk off giggling and stumbling along.

Riku stared at them, "That was…"

"Weird," Donald finished.

O'Malley smiled, "You know something? I like Uncle Waldo."

"Especially when he's marinated," Duchess chuckled.

* * *

The group of cats walked in a line along the rooftops of Paris under the darkness of night, Thomas in the lead with Marie sitting on his back. Berlioz sat on Sora's back, and Lea carried Toulouse.

Duchess asked the orange tomcat, "Thomas, Madame will be so worried. Are you sure we can't get home tonight?"

"Mama, I'm tired," Marie sighed.

"Me too," Berlioz whined, "and my feet hurt."

Kairi went up to the white Persian, "Oh Duchess, it's late."

"Baby, the kids are bushed," O'Malley kindly told her.

Toulouse yawned, "I'll bet we walked a hundred miles."

"I'll bet it's more than a thousand," cut in Berlioz.

Duchess gave them comforting smile, "Now, now darlings, cheer up, Mister O'Malley knows a place where we can stay tonight."

"Hey alley cat," Lea groaned, "I'm with the little ones. How much farther is it?"

O'Malley smiled back, "Keep your whiskers up guys; it's just beyond the next chimney pot." The gang went on, and he soon pointed out an old attic. "Well, there it is! My own penthouse pad, it's not exactly the ritz, but it's peaceful and quiet." Suddenly the lights came on inside and a trumpet blared from inside, followed by more music.

"Peaceful huh?" Donald glanced at Thomas.

The orange cat looked surprised himself and a little embarrassed, "Oh! Oh, no, sounds like Scat Cat and his gang have dropped by."

"Oh, friends of yours?"

"Uh-huh, yeah," Thomas told them as the kittens and Sora went to poke their heads in the window, "They're old buddies and they're real swingers."

"Swingers? What is a swinger?"

"You know, uh, not exactly your type, Duchess. Maybe we'd better find another place, huh?"

"Oh no, no, no, I would like to see your pad and meet your Scat Cat."

"Well, Okay." The group followed Sora and the kittens, and soon they all were peeking through the rooftop window. They saw a fat black cat on the bed blowing a trumpet, a light brown Italian cat playing the accordion, a cream colored English cat playing the guitar, a dark brown scraggly Russian cat playing a bass, and a yellow Chinese cat playing the piano.

O'Malley cried out, "Hey Scat Cat! Blow some of that sweet stuff my way!"

The fat black cat blew a long not on his trumpet and laughed, "Well, looky here! Big man O'Malley is back in his alley! Swing on down here, Daddy."

Thomas swung down and slid across the piano, spinning the Chinese cat around in his chair. "Lay some skin on me, Scat Cat, yea!" The black cat high-fived him.

"Buona sera, paesano,"

The English cat took off his sunglasses, "Welcome home, O'Malley!" Sora and the gang hopped down after Thomas. Duchess went up to Scat Cat and O'Malley introduced him, "Duchess, this is the greatest cat of 'em all."

"Oh," Duchess cooed, "I'm delighted to meet you, Monsieur Scat Cat."

He laid a gentle kiss on her paw, "Likewise, Duchess. You're too much."

"Oh, ho, ho," Duchess giggled, "You are charming! And your music is so… so different, but so exciting."

"It isn't Beethoven, mama," Berlioz smiled from atop the piano.

Ven sat right up there with the black kitten, "But it sure bounces!"

Scat Cat chuckled, "Say! That kitten cat knows where it's at!"

"Knows where what's at?"

"Well, young lady," Scat Cat exclaimed, "Let me elucidate here." He began to sing…

" _Everybody wants to be a cat!_

 _Because a cat's the only cat_

 _Who knows where it's at."_

O'Malley joined in…

 _"Tell me!_

 _Everybody's pickin' up on that feline beat_

 _'Cause everything else is obsolete."_

Scat Cat looked up at Lea on the bedpost, "Strictly high-button shoes."

O'Malley continued:

 _"A square with a horn_

 _Makes you wish you weren't born_

 _Every time he plays."_

 _But with a square in the act_

 _You can set music back."_

Scat Cat: _"To the caveman days… otto- toe- tom- oh- day"_

O'Malley: _I've heard some corny birds who tried to sing…_

Scat Cat: _"Still the cat's the only cat_

 _Who knows how to swing_

Russian cat: _"Who wants to did a long-haired gig_

 _And stuff like that."_

O'Malley and Scat Cat: _When everybody wants to be a cat_

 _A square with a horn_

 _Makes you wish you weren't born_

 _Every time he plays_

O'Malley: _"Oh, a-rinky-tinky-dinky"_

O'Malley and Scat Cat: _"With a square in the act_

 _You can set music back_

 _To the caveman days"_

Marie and Kairi joined in…

 _"Oh, a rinky-dinky-tinky!"_

O'Malley: _"Yes!"_

Sora and Kairi joined up with O'Malley and Marie…

 _"Everybody wants to be a cat_

 _Because a cat's the only cat_

 _Who knows where it's at_

 _When playin' jazz he always has_

 _A welcome mat"_

O'Malley, Marie, and Scat Cat: _"Cause Everybody digs a swingin' cat."_

Lea launched Toulouse into the air and he grabbed the light cord, causing multicolored lights to dance around the room. "Oh, boy fellas! Let's rock the joint!"

"Ha-Ha!" laughed the Russian cat, "Groove it, cat!" The beat of the music stepped up and everyone began to dance around the room, smiling and having a wonderful time.

Toulouse began to dance on the piano keys, playing a swift melody. The Chinese cat began to play on the piano with chopsticks…

 _"Shanghai, Hong Kong, Egg Foo Young_

 _Fortune cookie always wrong._ Oh ho, that's a hot one!" (5)

The music played on, and everyone's spirits lifted higher. Thomas went over to Duchess, "How 'bout you and me, Duchess?"

"Yes," she replied, "Let's swing it, Thomas." The two got up on their hind paws, put their front paws together, and began to dance.

"Wanna join 'um, Kairi?" Sora asked the pink Burmese.

She giggled, "Oh yes!" They joined the tomcat and Persian in dancing.

"Groovy," Toulouse exclaimed.

Scat Cat pulled off his bolar hat, stuck it on Berlioz, and put his trumpet before the kitten, "Blow it, small fry, blow!" The orange kitten blew one sharp blast, taking up all the air in his lungs.

Lea laughed at the kitten, "Boy, he blew it!"

"But he was a-close," the Italian cat agreed. The music and dancing continued for a few more minutes before it slowed down and was replaced but Duchess strumming away lightly on a harp. All the boys lay down and sighed as she quietly sang…

 _"If you want to turn me on (6)_

 _Play your horn, don't spare the tone_

 _And blow a little soul into the tune_

O'Malley: _"Let's take it to another key"_

Scat Cat: _"Modulate and wait for me_

 _I'll take a few ad-libs and pretty soon_

 _The other cats will all commence"_

O'Malley: _"Congregatin' on the fence_

 _Beneath the alley's only light"_

Duchess: _"Where every note is out of sight."_

There was a moment of silence before Scat Cat began the jazz music again. All of Scat Cat's gang jumped up atop the piano, playing their instruments, stomping, and singing…

 _"Everybody, everybody_

 _Everybody wants to be a cat!_

 _Everybody, everybody_

 _Everybody wants to be a cat!"_

The floor began to break under the piano, they fell six stories down, still singing the same verse over and over. When they got to the bottom they all filed out with broken instruments, still singing as they walked on the fence out of sight. The entire group watched Scat Cat's gang going off into the distance.

* * *

Donald put out the lights as Aqua, Ven, and Kairi brought the three exhausted kittens to their mother. She put them in the bed as they hummed the song from Scat Cat. "Happy dreams, my loves." The Keyblade gang curled up in various places around the room and fell asleep, while Duchess and O'Malley went out on the rooftop to talk.

Sora tossed and turned in his sleep.

 _He remembered something from his time alone, almost nine months ago(7). A vision of Riku, Lea, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, now Ven, five obscured figures, and Kairi lying on a field of battle. All covered in lethal wounds, and death had taken most or all of them._

 _However, this time he saw something he hadn't before, a figure in a black coat stood above Kairi with a Keyblade wreathed in darkness, about to deliver the final blow._

* * *

Sora jumped into wakefulness, startling Ven who was slept nearby.

The destiny islander got up and went to the rooftop, O'Malley and Duchess were asleep by now, and Ven followed him.

"Sora?"

The Selkirk Rex jumped at the sound of his voice, "Oh Ven, it's just you."

"Sora," the Savanna asked, "What is it?"

"Ven, do you remember in Edoras when I touched that black globe and saw that vision?"

"Yes."

"I saw the vision again in my dream, but this time you were in it, and someone, probably one of Xehanort's thirteen darknesses, was about to kill Kairi. You remember that vision was what made me share the Paopu with Kairi at the time that I did. I wanted to show her how I felt before the vision came to pass."

"I remember, and I'm sorry Sora." The two sat in silence on the Paris rooftop.

Sora was not the only one to have trouble sleeping; Lea also tossed in his sleep.

* * *

 _He heard Roxas's voice in his head saying, 'You promised us, Axel'. Then a girl's voice joined his, 'You promised that you would always be there to bring us back'. Lea saw Roxas and then another figure in the behind him._

 _"Roxas!" Lea exclaimed, "Who is your friend?"_

 _Roxas turned to the slim figure in the Organization coat and smiled, "You don't remember, the memories are leaking out; soon you will recall everything about her."_

 _"What do you mean, Roxas?" The blonde boy faded from view, as did the slim figure behind him. "ROXAS WAIT!"_

* * *

The next morning, the group walked down a fancy street, lined with mansions.

The classiness of the neighborhood impressed everyone, especially O'Malley, "Hey! Mee-oww! What a classy neighborhood! Dig these fancy wigwams!"

"Wigwams?"

Mickey looked around at all the beautiful mansions, "Are you sure we're on the right street?"

"Yes, yes!" exclaimed Duchess, "Let's hurry, we're almost home!" The kittens ran ahead to the large mansion on the end of the street.

"Hooray! We're home," yelled Berlioz.

His sister joined in the excitement, "Wait for me, wait for me! Me first, me first!" The three up to where the cat door was, but they found the door locked.

"It's locked."

"Come on, let's start meowing." The three little ones began to meow loudly.

A mouse ran up to the window and began motioning to the cats. Toulouse cried out, "Look! There's Roquefort, Hi Roquefort!"

"He's sure glad to see us!"

Duchess sighed, sad to see Thomas and the others go, "I don't know what to say. I only wish that…"

"Maybe a short goodbye would be easiest."

"I'll never forget you Thomas O'Malley, or you Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, Mickey, Ventus, and Lea… goodbye."

"Goodbye, Duchess."

"It was nice to meet you."

O'Malley was the saddest one of the gang, "So long, baby." Duchess left them and went to the door with her children.

A skinny butler opened the door for the four cats, "Duchess, wherever have you been?" They came inside and the door closed behind them.

Sora and the others as they slowly walked around the street corner. They hadn't gone very far when the mouse from the mansion window ran up to them panting, "Mister O'Malley! Sora! Hey! Stop! Duchess! Kittens! In trouble!" Butler did it!"

"DUCHESS AND KITTENS IN TROUBLE!" They all began to run back to the house. O'Malley yelled back to Roquefort, "Look, you go get Scat Cat and his gang of alley cats!"

"A-a-alley cat?" Roquefort stuttered, "But I'm a mouse!"

"Look, we're gonna need help."

"You mean you want me?"

Thomas pushed the mouse on, and Donald followed, "I'll back him up in case Scat Cat tries to eat him!"

"Fine," the tomcat cried, "Tell him O'Malley sent you and you won't have a bit of trouble."

* * *

"No trouble he said," Roquefort whined, "Well, that's easy for, uh, for what's- his- name to say. He's got nine lives, I only have one." He didn't notice the Italian cat behind him until it was too late.

The cat threw the mouse before Scat Cat, "What's a little swinger like you doin' on our side of town?"

"Oh please," begged the frightened mouse, "Uh, I was sent here for help by a cat."

"This is outrageous! This is crazy!" The alley cats busted out in roars of laughter.

"B-but honest! He told me just to mention his name."

The Russian cat grinned evilly, "So? Start mentioning name, rodent."

The little mouse was placed in Scat Cat's paw, much to its horror, "Oh, now, wait a minute, fellas. D-d-don't rush me. His name is… O'Toole."

One of Scat Cat's claws sprung out, "I don't dig him, strike one."

"Oh, ooh, O'Brien."

"Strike two."

"Oh, boy," Roquefort stuttered, "You believe me, don't you?"

The English cat glared at the mouse, "Keep talkin', mousy."

"How about O'…Grady?"

All of Scat Cat's claws extended, "Mousy, you just struck out." He stuck one claw under Roquefort's chin. "Any last words?"

Roquefort yelled in desperation, "Oh! Why did I listen to that O'Malley cat?!"

"O'MALLEY!"

"Hold it cats," cried Scat Cat, "This little guy's on the level!"

"You're darn-tootin' I'm on the level," the mouse spat.

"Oh," the Italian cat stammered, "We didn't mean-a to, to rough a-you, squeaky!"

Just at that moment, Donald ran up, "Don't worry about him! O'Malley and the others need your help! Duchess and the kittens are in trouble!" All the cats hunched their backs and hissed in anger at this news.

"Come on cats, we gotta split!"

"Hey, wait for me!" yelled Roquefort as they all took off. He just managed to grab onto the Russian cat's tail as Donald lead them toward the mansion.

* * *

The butler dropped the sack holding the cats in a trunk and padlocked it. "Now, my little pesky pets. You're going to travel first class, in your own private compartment."

O'Malley and the others were sitting in the rafters above him waiting to strike as Ven thought, "The butler… why is it always the butler?"

Edgar continued happily, "All the way to Timbuktu, and this time, ha, you'll never come back. Oh, no, we've got to hurry! The baggage truck will be here any moment." At that moment, the group in the rafters leapt down onto Edgar. He jumped back, waved his hand, and a hoard of Mad Dog Heartless appeared. "These puppies will take care of you meddling felines!" The guys summoned their weapons as O'Malley went after Edgar.

Scat Cat's group bounded in and attacked Edgar. "Sora, open the chest with your Keyblade!"

"I can't! There's no Keyhole, it's a combination lock!"

Roquefort ran over and tried to crack the code, but there was too much noise from the battle. "QUIET!" Everyone froze as he listened and cracked the lock.

Then the battle recommenced. Lea and O'Malley jumped into the chest, "Everybody, outta here, fast!"

But before they could jump out, Edgar broke away from the furious cats and closed the lid on all of them. "You're going to Timbuktu if it's the last thing I do!" Darkness began seeping from him and surrounded the trunk. He grew larger and Edgar turned into a large dog like Heartless(8). His body colored a dark gray and covered in white lines. The chest, with Duchess, Marie, Toulouse, Berlioz, O'Malley, and Lea inside, hung around his neck like an ID tag on a collar. The Heartless insignia glowed on his back. The Frenzied Beast Heartless, once Edgar, roared loudly.

"So, it was him that drew the Heartless here." The group summoned their weapons to destroy the giant Heartless.

Ven and Sora attacked first, both blasting it with a barrage of fire spells at it. The Frenzied Beast Heartless countered with a sweep of his front paws, Ven and Sora were thrown back into the gang of alley cats. Kairi and Aqua leapt up and drove their blades into the insignia on its back, it roared loudly with pain and rolled over onto the two girls.

"KAIRI!" Scat Cat pulled her out from under the monster while Sora cast Curaga on her. Donald paralyzed it with a thundaga spell as Goofy bashed it on the head as hard as possible. All the alley cats jumped on its head and scratched it. As the Heartless tried to bat them off Riku jumped over and cut the chest, that contained the others, from the Frenzied Beast's neck.

It fell and Lea, O'Malley, Duchess, and the kittens jumped out. Once the chest came open, the Heartless shrunk to a normal dog size. O'Malley and Lea charged it, knocking it into the chest, Sora sealed it in, and the alley cats pushed it outside the barn. Just in time too, for the mail truck drove up at that very moment

"Well Mac," one of the men said, "this must be the trunk, eh?"

Mac answered his coworker, "Yup, and she goes all the way to Timbuktu." They heaved the trunk containing Edgar into the truck and drove off.

Toulouse jumped out into the road behind the truck and began to snarl and hiss, making everybody laugh.

Kairi stood at the back of the group when she heard a faint voice calling to here, " _Kairi…Kairi."_ She followed the sound of the voice outside the barn and around a bend.

"Hello?" No one answered. "Huh…"

"There you are!" A hand reached down, grabbing the female cat by the scruff of the neck.

The girl looked up to see Braig, completely human, grinning down at her. She struggled but he had a strong grip on the fur of her neck. "SORA!"

Sora and the others came running towards her cries. They all came into view, just in time to see Braig open a corridor of darkness. "Sorry, but the pretty kitty is coming with me." He stepped into the darkness before anyone could do anything.

"Not happening!" Lea ran forward, launching himself into the corridor, mere seconds before it closed.

"Lea!"

* * *

Lea landed on the ground of the dark passage, back as a human. He shook his head, regaining his bearings. "Whoa."

"Let me go!"

The Pyro looked up just in time to see Kairi roundhouse kick Braig. "Kairi!" Jiminy called from the princess' shoulder. "Lea's here!"

Jumping up, Lea grabbed her arm. "Let's go!" Heartless and Nobodies began appearing out of the darkness all around the two of them. Lea held out his hand, opening a dark corridor; he didn't care where it sent them(9), as long as it took them away from here. A moment later, the dark passageway swallowed them up.

* * *

 **There we are!**

 **I can't believe I did this in one day! I'm so proud of myself!**

 **Please Review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Yes, Sora has a pet cat.

(2) I love the songs in this movie too much! I had to make this a musical world.

(3) I had to do it!

(4) My favorite scene in the movie, right here!

(5) Sorry if this offends anyone.

(6) Yes, I caught the innuendo.

(7) Reference to "Lord of the Keyblade".

(8) Like a massive Bad Dog Heartless.

(9) I assume that it takes serious concentration to open a passage to a certain location. 

* * *

**Hope in the Storms**

Right now, there is a lot going on in the world. Most of us have probably heard how Texas just had a hard hit from Hurricane Harvey.

I used to live in that area down there and I still have many family members, including my younger brother down in that area. Thankfully, they are all alright.

There has been so much loss lately, but there is hope. In every storm that life gives us, whether it be a physical storm or a storm of life, there is hope. While thing may not seem the best right now, God can and will see you through the tough times.

Romans 8:28 reads, " _And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose._ "

So, remember, even when things get tough and it seems like everything is going wrong, it will all work out for your good as long as you love God.


	13. Chapter 13: Cyber Cite- Bots and Cons

**MY FAVORITE WORLD HAS ARRIVED!**

 **KH is my largest fandom and this world is my second largest fandom.**

 **If you read the original and KH4, somethings may begin to fall into place here… so enjoy!**

 **Thank you** **DaLfA** **and** **AnimeLover217** **for following and favoriting!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Transformers Prime © to Hasbro!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Cyber Cite: The Bots and Cons**

* * *

Kairi blinked as the darkness suddenly turned to the deep orange-red light of a sunset; Lea grinned down at her, "You ok?"

"Yeah," she shook the vapors from her head, looking around to find the two of them standing in the bottom of a cement canal(1), "I'm fine, thanks for coming after me, Lea."

"Don't mention it, Princess, but now we don't know where we are."

"Well, that's great… nice job."

"Hey!" Lea playfully ruffled her hair, "I saved your butt."

The two laughed, but it ended just as quickly as it began, for the ground suddenly shook and the familiar sounds of battle reached their ears. "Sounds like our cue."

"Yeah, let's go."

The two ran down the canal and around a bend. They skidded to a stop, eyes widening in utter disbelief. Before them a battle between four giant robots waged.

Two purple robots with black accents, a red slit for eyes, and wheels on the back of their arms and legs battled against two colorful robots. One robot was a slim robot with feminine-features, mainly blue coloration, and pink and silver accents. The other was a bulkier yellow bot with black accents.

Nearby stood two human boys. The older boy looked to be about Sora's age with windswept black hair and brown eyes.

The other boy was about 12 years old, his brown hair spiked upwards, his bangs hanging just above his brown eyes, partially hidden by a pair of red glasses.

Both the yellow and blue robots fell to the ground, as the other two pounded on them. The younger boy yelled, "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" Now the other bots noticed the two boys. One waved his giant hand towards them and around two dozen Strafer Heartless appeared.

"Heartless!" Lea and Kairi summoned their weapons and launched into the fray as the boys made their way into a drainage pipe. To the surprise of the boys and bots, the two Keybearers leapt in, annihilating the Heartless.

Kairi slashed a Strafer in half, unaware of the shadow falling over her. Lea looked up to see one of the large, black robots towering over her, ready to bring his foot down upon her. "FLOWER GIRL(2)! WATCH OUT!" He suddenly realized what he said, but the words had already left his lips.

The words reached the princess' ears and time seemed to stop. Images, memories, flowed across her mind so quickly that she couldn't recognize them, but what remained behind was a feeling. A feeling of agony, sorrow, and pain. These memories… all they dragged behind was pain.

Kairi grabbed her hair, threw back her head and screamed. In that same moment, her eyes lost all color and became glowing orbs of white light. A brilliant white aura erupted from her, sending the black robot flying backward.

The battlefield became still as all stood transfixed on the girl. The light cocooned around the Princess of Heart, sending her into the sky. The cocoon dissolved but Kairi still remained hidden by a white substance which spread out, revealing the girl, now dressed in a dress of pure white. The white substance expanded out and back, and now all could see them as brilliant angel wings.(3)

"Kairi…" Lea stared at her. The girl paid him no heed as she held a hand towards the two black robots. A stream of light shot forth, blowing the two back and away.

The two dark robots stumbled up, looking like they'd just been inside an explosion. Their plating shifted and they transformed into two cars before driving away.

Another robot, large and green-colored, came towards them, staring at Kairi. "What in the name of Primus!?"

"We have no idea about what's going on." The female robot huffed. Her eyes looked down at Lea, but the young man didn't notice as his eyes were still fixed on Kairi.

"Kairi!"

The girl looked down at him, lowering herself towards the ground. When her feet touched the pavement, the wings and white dress melted away. Kairi, now back in her old clothes, wobbled and collapsed.

Lea lunged forward, catching her; he picked her up, cradling her in his arms. "What happened to you, Kairi?"

"K

"Uh, what do we do?"

Lea turned to see the three remaining robots staring down at them. The yellow one beeped out something and the other two nodded. The female robot crossed her arms. "I guess you're right. Hey, you, humans, we need you to come with us."

Lea glared at her. "You're not going to kill us or something?"

"No, we want to know what happened with that girl. We've never seen anything like that before."

The pyro looked down at his friend and sighed. "Fine, as long as she gets some help."

The yellow robot transformed into a yellow car and the back door opened. Lea laid Kairi across the back seat and climbed into the passenger seat.

* * *

The silent ride across the desert gave Lea time to think. Kairi hadn't reacted until he called her 'flower girl'. Was that what caused her to go crazy, sprout wings, and do whatever the heck all that was?

They drove towards a plateau and the side of it opened to reveal a passageway which spiraled upwards. The robots drove into it and the passage soon opened to reveal a large room.

The yellow car stopped and Lea stepped out; the car behind him turned into a robot again. For a moment, Lea felt concern for Kairi's safety, but when he looked, the yellow robot held her gently in his giant hands. The other two robots transformed as well; the ground shook a little and Lea saw two other robots coming towards them.

One was red and white and held an annoyed look on his face. The other was much larger than the others with red and blue coloring, and he had a noble bearing about him, and his face seemed gentle and kind.

"Are these the two?"

"Yes," the female bot grunted. "The femme(4) is the one who sprouted wings and took down two Cons."

"What is going on?"

The large red and blue bot knelt down towards Lea. "I apologize for this. I am certain that is all a shock, but I give you my word that neither of you will be harmed in our care." His calm and strong voice gave the pyro no reason to distrust him. "I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. The others are Ratchet, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead"

Lea looked up at him, "I take it that 'Autobots' is the name of your faction… Well, my name is Lea Fahrenheit and my unconscious friend is Kairi."

"We will care for her medical needs, but I would like some sort of explanation about what Arcee told me about."

The female robot, Arcee, put a hand on her hip. "And by that, we mean the wings and light."

"Well," the pyro rubbed the back of his head. "I actually have no idea about what happened. I've never seen her do that before."

Ratchet, the red and white bot took the girl into his hands. "Hmm, that is strange." He carried her over to a giant medical berth and laid her down.

"So," Jiminy bounced on Lea's shoulders, drawing their attention to him, "I'm guessing that you guys are not originally from this world since you have to hide here like this."

"You know of other worlds?"

The young man nodded. "The two of us and some friends are traveling through the worlds, trying to fight against some people who want to destroy the universe, among other things. So, what are you doing here?"

"To protect this world from the Decepticons," the blue and red titan replied.

"The losers who you fought before." The large green robot, Bulkhead, replied.

"But why are they here?"

"A fair question Lea," Optimus replied, "Partly, because our world is uninhabitable, ravaged by centuries of civil war."

"War?"

"It was over control of our world's supply of Energon, the lifeblood of all Autobots and Decepticons alike. The combat was fierce and endured for centuries. In the beginning, I fought alongside one whom I considered a brother; but in war, ideals can be corrupted. And it was thus that Megatron lost his way," Optimus told the two without wavering in his speech.

Lea looked downward sadly, "I know the feeling Optimus… I lost a friend of mine the same way not too long ago." His thoughts drifted back to Isa, before the Organization.

The yellow robot cocked his head, beeping something that Lea couldn't understand. Arcee smirked and spoke. "Bumblebee just wanted to know about the weapons that you two carry."

"It's a long story."

"You two both had some kind of sword that was able to harm the Decepticons and destroy those monsters."

Lea sighed, mumbling under his breath, "Great, can't keep the world order anywhere… well, not like we ever cared about it before(5)." He held out his hand and summoned his Keyblade.

Ratchet stared, wide-eyed, "By the Allspark!"

"What!" Bulkhead looked at the two humans nervously, "What is it?"

Optimus recognized the weapon as well, "A Keyblade." Bumblebee beeped and chirped a few times before their leader answered, "A Keyblade is a weapon of great power, wielded only by the chosen few. No lock can withstand it, and it possesses a strength that could match our own."

"Why would a weapon of that power be in the hands of humans?"

Lea gave the medic a glare. "What do you have against humans?" The medic didn't answer. The young man turned back to Prime, "What about the other two boys? Are you going to bring them here too? I really don't think we were brought here just to ask us about our involvement in the fight; you brought us here to make sure we were protected from your enemies and that probably includes those two guys as well."

"How would you guess that?" Ratchet asked them.

"Experience." Lea shrugged, "As I said before, we're kind of in a war of our own at the moment, so we know that precautions have to be taken for the safety of others."

Bumblebee chirped out something, but Lea just shrugged, so Bulkhead translated for the yellow mute, "He asked how you got here. And he wants to know about your even tinier... friend"

"On the last world we visited, Kairi got nabbed by one of our enemies. I went after her and made a portal to escape. I didn't know where I was opening the portal to, but I just had to get us out of there. And as for Jiminy here, he's chronicling our journey."

Bulkhead gave a long low whistle, "That's quite a story, but how do you expect to contact your friends?"

"Well, I get the feeling that they'll find us."

Ratchet huffed. "I'll have the radar search for any incoming ships."

"Thanks."

* * *

Sora sat in the driver's seat of the ship, eyes closed, hand on his heart. "There you are, Kairi!" He smiled warmly as his heart showed the way.

"I think you too the whole 'may our hearts be our guiding key'(6) thing to entirely new level." Riku put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Hey, Kairi and I have a… connection."

The silver-haired boy raised an eyebrow before a playful smirk crossed his features. "You two shared a Paopu, didn't you?" Sora turned beet-red and Riku laughed. "You did! No wonder she could always feel if you were ok or not!"

"Shut up… just let me get us to Kairi."

"Go ahead, lover boy!"

* * *

Kairi sat up, rubbing her eyes. Everything around her slowly came into focus as her vision cleared. She squeaked as a large yellow, robotic face with blue eyes came towards her.

The robot beeped out something. At first, Kairi couldn't understand what the beeping meant, but suddenly she understood what the beeping meant. The robot blinked, his eyes filled with a child-like innocence. " **Hi there, you feeling ok, Kairi?** "(7)

"Yeah, I'm fine, but where am I?"

" **Our base** ," He held out a finger towards her. " **My name is Bumblebee. Lea will be happy you're awake, but he's sleeping right now.** "

The princess smiled. "Nice to meet you." For the next hour, Bumblebee explained everything to her: the Autobots, Decepticons, and the war. Kairi, in turn, told him about her adventures.

" **So, why were you kidnapped by that Braig guy?** "

"Probably because Xehanort wants me since I'm a Princess of Heart."

Bumblebee cocked his head. " **What's that mean?** "

"Well," the girl sighed, "It means that I have a heart of pure light. Not my physical heart, but my central being and the feelings within. Most people have darkness there: dark thoughts, anger, hatred, and the like. But I, and six others do not."

The Autobot got excited. " **Wow! Then you're super special! While we don't have hearts like humans do, I guess that we do have a heart like that. Hey, I wonder if that's why you did the thing with the wings!** "

"Wings?"

" **Yeah, when you grew wings and took down the Decepticons!** "

"I did that?"

Bumblebee blinked in confusion. " **You don't remember?** "

"No… what did I do?"

* * *

Lea sat with Kairi, as Ratchet looked her over for injuries. "You seem fine, Kairi."

"I guess so…"

They all looked up as Arcee and Bumblebee drove into the base. Optimus sent them to get the two boys who witnessed the battle the day before. Since the Decepticons saw the boys, the two were in danger and Optimus wanted to have the Autobots protect them.

The boy with glasses jumped out of Bumblebee's cab before the bot transformed. Arcee let the older boy off, and now there was a girl with them. She dressed in an interesting manner and had black hair in pigtails, with pink highlights.

She was not nervous of the giant robots, unlike the older boy, so she ran up to Bulkhead and exclaimed, "Hi, I'm Miko! Who are you?"

"Bulkhead…"

"Oh! I bet you're a truck, a monster truck! Do you like heavy metal? How much do you weigh?" Her eyes drifted around, noticing Lea and Kairi. "Cool! We're not the first ones here!"

The boys introduced themselves; the older one was named Jack and the younger one was named Rafael, or Raf. Optimus came over, telling the three children about the war.

This time, since he was not entirely part of the conversation, Jiminy took the time to copy all that Optimus said.

After the entire talk, an alarm sounded. The children looked around nervously, "What is that?"

Bumblebee beeped something, and Raf translated, "Proximity sensors, someone's up top."

An image appeared on the screen of a large dark man in a gray suit getting out of a helicopter. "It's Agent Fowler."

"I thought we were the only humans who knew about you guys?" Jack questioned.

"Agent Fowler is our designated liaison to the outside world," answered Prime, "As he tends to visit only when there are… issues."

Kairi looked over at her fellow Keybearer. "I bet he's here about the battle yesterday."

Optimus looked down at the three kids, "It is best that you do not meet him at this time. Lea, Kairi, Jiminy, we informed him of your presence and where you came from. He will have no problem with you(8)." Jack, Raf, and Miko went around a corner where they were out of sight from the catwalk.

Agent Fowler stormed into the room, "Seven wrecks, thirty-four fender-benders, and a particular note about a speeding motorcycle of unknown make and a custom-made black and yellow muscle car!" He glared at Arcee and Bumblebee as they avoided his gaze. "So, anything you'd care to get off your tin chest, Prime?"

Prime leaned forward, staring calmly into the agent's face, "We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler."

"They're back," Fowler said in a much calmer voice, "aren't they?"

"If you are referring to the Decepticons, I have my doubts that they had ever left. Your planet is much too valuable."

"Then it's time to wake up the Pentagon!"

Optimus's voice became stern, "Hear me, Agent Fowler; we are your best, possibly your only, defense against the Decepticon threat."

"Says you!"

Bulkhead groaned, "Hey fleshy! Did anyone get splattered on that freeway? Team Prime knows when to use force." He grabbed a tool off the balcony, crushing it in his hand, "And how much to use."

"Bulkhead!" Ratchet yelled, "I needed that!"

"Enough," Optimus held up his hand "Military involvement will only result in human catastrophe. Perhaps you can condone widespread human casualties, Agent Fowler. I, however, cannot."

Fowler boldly growled at him, "Then do us all a favor, Prime, and handle this under the radar… or I will!" He walked toward the elevator, glancing at Kairi, Jiminy, and Lea for a moment. "And don't think I'm done with you. I'll be back to ask you a few questions." He stepped into the elevator and went back to his helicopter.

Lea and Kairi frowned "What is his problem?"

"He is concerned for his world, Lea, as he well should be," Prime sighed. His eyes glanced down as Jack, Miko, and Raf left their hiding spot.

Jack opened his mouth to speak when a shill alert echoed throughout the base. All the humans covered their ears instantly; however, Ratchet ran over to the control panel, staring up at the screen, "Blasted Earth tech! Cliffjumper's signal just came back online.(9)"

"Who's Cliffjumper?" asked Lea

Kairi lowered her voice, "Bumblebee told me that was a friend of theirs who died recently."

"How is that possible?" Arcee's voice shook with emotion.

"It isn't," Ratchet answered her, "Another bug… the system's chocked full of them."

"If there's any chance Cliff's alive…"

Prime looked over at her and then to his medic, "Ratchet, prepare sickbay… we may need it." He turned to a control box near a large opening in the wall.

Miko jumped in excitement, "Hey, what can we do?"

"Remain with Ratchet." Optimus joined the other bots near the opening, "Lea, Kairi, come with us. I would like to see you in battle."

The two joined the group as Miko cried, "Aw! Why do they get to go?"

"They can fight," Ratchet groaned.

The cricket leapt off Kairi's shoulders, landing near Rafael. "I'll wait here, you two."

"Sounds good."

The opening in the base wall lit up with rings of light, spaced out inside of it; a greenish fog-like substance curled between the rings. The Autobots transformed, allowing Kairi and Lea to climb inside before they drove into the swirling portal.

* * *

"Hello? Anyone out there?" Sora slumped down in the seat. He'd been trying to hail anyone on the world he'd pinpointed Kairi on. No one answered.

"Keep trying, Sora." Mickey comforted.

The boy reached to try again, when the console sputtered to life, " _This is Autobot outpost Omega-1. Identify yourself._ "

"We got through!" Sora pressed the call button, ecstatic. "This is Sora! I'm looking for two friends of mine, named Kairi and Lea."

" _Ah, yes._ " The voice affirmed. " _Kairi, Jiminy, and Lea are currently in our care. We will gladly reunite you with them; send us your coordinates when you land and we will meet you._ "

"Will do!"

Aqua let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad we found them."

"Looks like your heart was right, Sora! Though, we probably should've noticed that Jiminy was gone... he's just so quiet after we get off a world." Ven patted his friend on the back. "Now, let's go find them!"

* * *

As Kairi and Lea rode through the portal, their stomachs feeling stretched, the princess recalled what this was; Bumblebee called it the 'Groundbridge'. While it had sounded interesting at first, now it made her feel sick.

They all came out of the Groundbridge into a large mine filled with glowing blue crystals. Lea climbed out of Bulkhead's cab and touched one of the crystals, "What is this stuff?"

"That is the Energon Optimus told you about." Arcee glanced around, weapons out, "And this mine… it looks as if the Decepticons have been working at this for years."

They made their way further into the mine and saw a large transport tube leading up to a large warship. Decepticon, the same black and purple drones from the fight before, patrolled the different levels of the mine. Kairi and Lea stared in awe. Never before had they seen something like this.

"I've got eyes on Cliff." Arcee slunk forward, eyes locked on a red bot who lay unmoving at the edge of a ledge.

Optimus nodded to her, "Go and retrieve him; we'll cover you, go!"

The female bot leapt from cover, running up towards her friend. The others, including the two Keybearers, covered her. Lea and Kairi got in close, slashing at the Decepticons. The magic of their weapons sliced through the metal easily, much to the shock of the Cons.

They heard a crash as Cliffjumper's body tumbled down, with Arcee reaching for him.

A moment later, a loud, sinister laugh rang about them; a slim red and silver Decepticon(10) stood a few levels above them. "I'd stick around, but I'm a bit squeamish." He laughed again as he dropped a bomb down into the mine.

"Autobots transform and maximum overdrive!" The group transformed, heading for the exit. Arcee came down, picking up the two humans as they outran the blast. "Ratchet! Bridge us back! Use the arrival coordinates… NOW!"

As they drove through, and the portal closed behind them, and the remnant of the blast blew against the backs of Lea and Kairi, the heat stinging their skin.

"Cutting it a bit close?" Ratchet commented calmly, "How 'bout Cliffjumper?" The Autobots remained silent, and it was evident that they failed to save him. Even if Kairi and Lea had not known Cliffjumper, the loss of a friend to anyone was enough to cause their hearts to grieve.

Miko dashed forward eyes wide with excitement, "What was that explosion? Was there a fight? Can I come next time?"

Lea glared at the girl, but Jack pulled her away "Hey, hey Miko! Let's… go see what the Bots hide in their sock drawers."

"Arcee," Optimus approached the bot, "What did you see?"

"Not Cliff," the femme choked out, "At least, not anymore. He, he was mutated, butchered. L-like something from those Con experiments during the war." Her knees buckled as Bumblebee caught her; he buzzed in concern as he set her down on a large crate, "I'm fine! Just… dizzy."

Kairi looked at Lea, speaking in a hushed tone. "They may not have hearts of flesh and blood, but they are not much different from us, and they have hearts… they have deep emotions and feelings."

"Yeah, they do."

Ratchet leaned over Arcee scanning her for injuries. He stopped on a small purple spot on her right hand. "Ah-ha… what is this?" He lifted up her hand to take a better look at the purple liquid.

"I don't know. Cliff was covered in it… leaking it."

Ratchet grabbed an oversized scalpel and scraped the liquid off onto a flat dish. "Go take a decontamination bath, now!" He put the plate on a microscope while Bumblebee led the femme off.

"Uh, Optimus, I hate to butt in, but…" Jack held up his cell phone, "No bars."

The titan seemed unconcerned, "A security precaution, the silo walls isolate all radio waves."

"Well, if I don't call my mom, like, now, I'm pretty sure the cops will be out looking for me!"

Optimus leaned closer, "Have you broken a law?"

"Uh, curfew… it's after ten P.M."

"I better get home too," Raf added, "or I'll be grounded for a year!"

Optimus nodded in understanding, "Earth customs, I hadn't considered. But the issue of your safety still remains." He turned to his Autobots, "Bulkhead, accompany Miko home."

"Awesome! My host parents will freak!"

"And," the Prime continued, "Maintain covert surveillance, in vehicle form."

"Curbside duty got it," the green boy smiled.

"Bumblebee, you'll watch over Raf. Ratchet…"

"Busy," the medic cut him off without even looking over at them.

Prime's optics moved to the female bot, "Arcee, you will accompany Jack."

"Still dizzy," she swayed slightly.

"You're fine, says your physician." Ratchet looked over at Lea and Kairi, "What about those two?"

Lea waved a hand dismissively, "We can camp out here for the night."

The Prime glanced down at them. "Very well."

* * *

Kairi lay on a pile of giant cloths, staring into the darkness. Her mind dwelled on what she'd been told by Bumblebee.

Had she really grown wings and used light against those Cons?

She remembered nothing. The last thing she remembered was Lea yelling for her to look out. Wait… he did yell at her, didn't he? But, he didn't use her name… what did he call her?

Her brain struggled to remember until sleep overcame her.

* * *

Kairi woke up and went out into the main room, still rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Morning, Princess!" Lea sat up on the catwalk, grinning. "Guess what, Ratchet forgot to mention that he got in contact with Sora."

"Really?"

"That's right," their cricket friend nodded, "and they should be arriving later today."

The girl smiled up at the medic. "Thank you, Ratchet!"

"No, thank you. I like you better than most humans. You have been quiet and left me alone to work," the medic didn't glance at the humans once, but kept his eyes fixed into the microscope lens, peering down at the purple liquid he took from Arcee, "Normally houseguests can be such a bother."

Lea came down to Kairi's side just as a loud clang echoed across the base. Lea sighed as Ratchet looked down at them, "We didn't do it!"

The medic shook his head and went back to his work, but a loud clicking sound filled the air, and he jumped up, "… Optimus?" He turned towards the Groundbridge tunnel before pulling back, "But the Allspark!"

A small robot with four legs skittered across the floor towards them. Ratchet grabbed a pipe and began to attack it. Lea and Kairi summoned their weapons and joined in. They knocked the thing back, but that only made it angrier. It continued to evade all three's attacks before smashing one of the medic's tools.

"I NEEDED THAT!" As the thing jumped at him one last time he braced himself; however, a laser bolt hit the creature.

Kairi turned and saw Optimus. "Oh, thank you, Optimus!"

Lea approached it slowly, "What the heck could have caused that?"

"I…" The Prime began, but the creature twitched and jumped up.

Lea barely had time to act as it jumped at him; he tried to move, but the little monster drew one of its sharp legs across his chest. The pyro let out a sharp cry of pain as blood began to drip from the large wound. As the thing began to come after Kairi Ratchet brought his foot down on it.

"Lea, are you alright?" The Prime asked in concern as Lea clutched his throbbing chest.

Kairi summoned her Keyblade, "I've got it." She held up her blade, and a green Cure aura surrounded Lea.

"Great… my shirt has a large tear in it, and it's covered in blood!" Kairi reached over and gave the pyro a good smack right where the wound had been. "OW! What was that for?"

"You being a goof and getting too close to that thing!" Lea clutched his chest and glared up at Kairi, who was now smirking at him.

Optimus sighed, staring down at the tiny robot, " I do believe I know what caused your tool to revive… Dark Energon(11). If the residue found by Arcee on Cliffjumper brought your broken equipment to life, it would stand to reason that the very same substance brought Cliffjumper back from the dead."

Kairi blinked, "A zombie robot?!"

As the Prime put what was left of the living tool into a canister and hid it from view, Ratchet tapped his chin. "That would account for his life signal inexplicably coming back online… but, Dark Energon? It's so scarce as to be virtually nonexistent! What would it be doing on earth?"

"It was transported," Prime's gaze darkened, "By Megatron."

"For what purpose?"

Optimus looked down at the two humans at his feet, "To conquer this planet, by raising an army of the dead."

"Well then," laughed Lea, "Zombie robot invasion… why choose just one form of global annihilation?(12)"

The Princess of Heart moved to make a snarky retort but paused as Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Arcee pulled in with their three human companions. The kids got out, smiling and laughing, and even the bots seemed a little happier.

Ratchet turned to the computer as an alarm went off. "Kairi, Lea, it seems your friends have arrived and are transporting their coordinates. I'll open a Groundbridge and bring them here."

"Sounds good!"

* * *

The group landed in a remote forest area. "Well, now we wait."

To their right, a low rumble shook the air as a swirling green portal split the scenery.

Goofy gulped, "What is that?"

"No idea."

Sora laid a hand on his heart and smiled, "That's where Kairi is! Let's go!" Without a second's delay, he dashed through the portal.

"SORA WAIT!"

The boy ran into the base before skidding to a stop. All around him stood giant robots.

"SORA!"

"KAIRI!" She came running into his outstretched arms, he lifted her off the ground, and spun her around. The others came in just in time to see this. While they too were in awe of their new location and the robots, they took a moment to share in the happiness of their two friends.

The Princess sighed happily as she looked up into the horizon blue eyes of Sora. "I knew you'd come."

"I just followed our connection."

The two smiled, their foreheads touching. "Kairi, I was afraid I'd lost you."

"You might have if not for Lea. I may have been able to get free of Xehanort's men, but I would've been stuck in the Realm of Darkness without him."

"I know," Sora looked over at the pyro, "Hey Lea, thank you for going after Kairi."

Lea grinned, "Don't mention it!"

Once the reunions ended, Optimus walked over, kneeling down over the group. "I am Optimus Prime. Welcome to our base."

"Thank you," Aqua nodded, "I am Keyblade Master Aqua, this is Ven, that's Donald, that is Goofy, this is King Mickey, over there is Keyblade Master Riku, and the one with Kairi is Sora."

"This is our medic Ratchet, my scout Bumblebee, Arcee, and Bulkhead," the Prime gestured to each bot and person as he said their name, "The children are Jack, Rafael, and Miko."

Ratchet gave the group a curious glance, "Are the rest of you also Keyblade wielders?"

"Most of us are."

" Fascinating," the medic hummed, "I believed that Keyblade wielders had vanished long ago with the end of the Keyblade war, I did not realize how many there still were."

Prime stood up tall, "We are glad that you are reunited but we have some urgent matters to attend to."

"Well, you helped us, so we're willing to help you guys!" Sora grinned.

The Autobot leader nodded, turning to his troops. "Autobots prepare to…" His eyes turned down to the three innocent human children who stood nearby.

"Roll out?" Arcee offered with a smile.

"Remain here," Prime finished, "Ratchet, you will come with me along with Lea, Master Aqua, King Mickey, and Master Riku. Arcee, we will be out of communications range for some time, so I am putting you in charge."

Miko looked up at Bulkhead, "Dude, you're the biggest you should be the boss!"

"He, uh, never picks me."

"Optimus, with all due respect," Arcee huffed, "Playing bodyguard's one thing, baby sitting's another. Besides, Ratchet hasn't been in the field since the war!"

"My pistons may be rusty but my hearing is sharp as ever!" growled the medic.

Optimus gently held up a hand, "For the moment, it is only reconnaissance."

"Then why do I hear an edge in your voice?"

"Arcee much has changed in the last twenty-four hours and we all need to adapt." He turned back to his medic, "Ratchet, bridge us out." The two bots and the four Keybearers went through the Groundbridge and vanished.

Jack clapped his hands together, looking up at his guardian, "Ok, chief, so, uh… what's on the activities list?"

"I'm going on patrol," she headed towards the exit ramp.

"But Optimus told us to stay.

"When you're in charge, you can call the shots… Bee, Kairi, Sora with me!" The three looked at one another but followed her. "Bulkhead, you're in charge." She and Bumblebee transformed and Sora got in Bee while Kairi got on Arcee. Then they drove off.

Bulkhead scratched the back of his head, "So, uh, what's on the activities list?"

* * *

Ven watched as Miko tried to get everyone to be in a band. The girl would not give up, but at least she was keeping everyone occupied.

Miko strummed her electric guitar just as the computer let out a loud alert. Bulkhead held up his hand, shushing the over-excited girl. "The proximity sensor! Quick! Hide!" The three kids, Miko still holding her guitar, rushed behind the bot's foot. Ven, Donald, and Goofy looked around, confused.

Agent Fowler stormed out from the elevator. "PRIME!"

"Agent Fowler," Bulkhead stuttered, "He's not here… nobody's here… accept me, of course, oh and three new guys from off-world."

"Well, where did he go? Wait; don't tell me, he's out pancaking a mini-mall!" The government man began to come down off the catwalk, not paying much attention to Ven and the others, at this moment, "Now, I don't know what language you bots speak on your planet, but Prime promised he would handle the Decepticons."

Bulkhead shifted slightly, catching the cord to Miko's guitar, causing the instrument to squeal.

Fowler didn't take notice, "And blowing a crater in the middle of Nebraska is not what the word 'handle' means in English. So, you tell Prime…" The guitar squealed again, and the agent noticed the cord coming from behind the bot's foot, "Since when are you bots electric?"

Slowly, the three kids came out from behind Bulkhead's foot. "Hey, how ya doing?"

"CONTACT WITH CIVILIANS!" roared Fowler, "Team Prime has really gone off-book this time! And you're lucky I don't cart off those new off-worlders. But civilians! Wait, don't tell me… you're running a daycare center."

The bot scrambled for words, and Jack jumped in, "We're… interns!

"Student interns!"

"Uh, earning extra credit in…"

"Robotics!"

Fowler sighed, "Ok, let's move. I'm taking all three of you into federal custody…"

He moved closer to the kids, but Bulkhead put his foot down between them, "We're protecting them!"

"Is that so?" the man went over to a phone on the wall, "Well, maybe you can explain that to my superiors at the Pentagon!"

As he picked up the phone, Bulkhead reached down and crushed it with his finger, "Don't use that phone, it's out of order."

Fowler's face turned a deep red. "This isn't over bigfoot, not by a long shot!"

* * *

Lea and the others came out of the Groundbridge, the organics wobbling out, sick to their stomachs, arriving in a dark canyon. After the four Keybearers gathered their wits and stomachs, Prime led them on a long walk westwards.

After a while, Ratchet became a little agitated, "Optimus what do we hope to find here?"

"The sight of the largest Cybertronian battlefield in this galaxy," answered the Prime.

"On this world? You must be joking."

Riku took one look at Optimus's face, "I don't think so, Ratchet."

"Ratchet, do you recall the period late in the war, when both sides began hiding their Energon spoils off world?" The Prime spoke, his eyes distant, filled with sorrow.

"Of course, it's the reason Energon deposits exist on planets such as this one."

Optimus gave a small nod, "It is also the reason battles came to be waged on planets such as this one. And I fear Megatron's memory is as long as history."

The four Keyblade wielders looked over at one other in concern; this Megatron sounded far too much like Xehanort.

* * *

Ven and the other organics covered their ears as a shrill alarm echoed throughout the base. Bulkhead went to the computer, "It's an SOS, from Fowler!" "

Did you trace it?" asked Goofy, worry filling his voice.

"Location scan was incomplete, oh well." The bot turned his back on the computer.

Ven gaped, "OH WELL?! Seriously?"

"Fowler's a jerk!"

"Excuse me," the large bot looked down at the tiny insect, "it should not matter if you like the man or not. He could be in real danger if the Decepticons have captured him… if you were in his situation what would you want him to do?"

Raf shuddered, "And Agent Fowler knows your location… our location."

"And, did we not just witness how fast Fowler backs down from a bot; the Cons will totally make him squeal!" Miko huffed.

"But we lost the transmission Fowler could be anywhere!"

Raf pulled a laptop from his backpack before sitting down and opening it, "Maybe I can narrow it down. About five years ago the government started microchipping their agents; you know, like owners do with pets." Everyone's eyes shot to the boy. "What! I saw it on TV! Anyway, if I can hack into the fed's mainframe maybe I can pinpoint Fowler's coordinates."

"You know how to hack? But you're like, two years old!"

"Twelve," corrected Raf, "and a quarter!"

After a few minutes of relentless typing, the boy called out, "Latitude thirty-nine point five; longitude one hundred sixteen point nine."

"Ven, Donald, Goofy, you're with me," he typed in the coordinates and opened the ground bridge. "You three stay here!"

"Aw! Don't break up the band!" Miko groaned.

"Uh, Jack, no wait... Jiminy, you're in charge!"

As the guys came through, Ven, Donald, and Goofy all shuddered, clutching their stomachs, but their eyes noticed the enormous, black warship floating in the air. "W-whoa…"

"Looks like we found the whole Decepticon shah-bang!"

"Alright," piped up a familiar voice, "What's the plan?" They saw Miko ducking behind a small rock, but she was in mostly plain sight.

"Miko!"

The girl looked up to see one of the sentries walking below the ship, staring at her, aiming his weapon to fire. Miko cringed. "Oh… unwise."

"Miko get down!" Donald cast a Shieldza spell around her as the Decepticon fired his weapon. The shot bounced off and the girl ran over to Bulkhead.

Before the drone could get another shot, Ven shot him with a Thundza spell. Bulkhead came up and drove his gigantic fist into the Decepticon's face. "Ven, guys get back!" Everyone jumped back as Bulkhead continued to grapple with the Con. "Miko look away!"

"But!"

"Turn your head away!" The Autobot drove his fist into the Con's chest and began ripping his inner wirings out. Ven, Donald, and Goofy watched in utter shock, but Miko, who had not looked away, watched with wide-eyed excitement.

Bulkhead let go of the Con and it collapsed to the ground, chest still sparking.

* * *

Kairi and Sora sat inside Bumblebee talking. "So, you grew wings and don't remember anything?"

"Apparently, and I can understand Bumblebee when no other humans other than Raf can."

"Whoa!" Sora smiled. "That is awesome and strange at the same time."

Bumblebee's comlink crackled as Bulkhead came over the radio, " _Arcee, Bumblebee do you read me?_ "

"Loud and clear Bulk."

" _I've got a situation._ "

Arcee sighed, "Bulkhead they're children, humans… just, do whatever." As the reply came in, the two Autobot's screeched to a halt, "You're where? SHE'S WHERE?

"Miko is crazy, the Decepticons will kill her!"

"Call Jack," Sora said, "He can bridge us to the base and then to Bulk."

"You're right, Jack, Jack come in. We need you to bridge us back!" Arcee waited for a reply and got nothing. "Scrap! Bee, metal to the pedal!"

* * *

Donald tapped his webbed foot impatiently, "What's taking them so long?"

Behind them, the Groundbridge swirled to life. Everyone turned, expecting Arcee, Bumblebee, Sora, and Kairi to come through, but instead, Jack and Raf came through. Ven groaned "No way."

Two sentries atop the ship looked down, pointing their weapons at the two boys. "Scrap!"

* * *

Optimus' group finally came out of the deep gorge into an open area surrounded by sheer cliffs. In front of them lay a large field of battle, dead Cybertronians lay everywhere. "I… I can't believe it."

"For the first time in my life Optimus," Ratchet said solemnly, "I had hoped that you were wrong."

A loud roar filled the sky above them as a silver jet flew over. "Is that Megatron?"

"Yes."

The leader of the Decepticon's transformed at the end of the battlefield, atop the cliffs. His hulking silver form reflected the dim lights and his purple eyes stared, piercing into the souls of the Keybearers and Autobots below him "Optimus… been well? I see you brought your trusty watchdog, I was certain he'd be convalescing in a scrap yard by now."

"Why don't you invite him down here for a check?"

The Megatron spotted the four humans alongside them; he laughed, "And I also see that you brought some fleshie 'pets'."

"Oh," Riku growled, "Please invite him down here!"

Lea summoned his Keyblade, "We'll show him that these 'pets' can kick his big titanium butt all the way to Cybertron and back!"

Optimus kept his gaze focused on his nemesis, "I know why you are here Megatron."

"Hardly a surprise Optimus! After all, you and I have been at this a long time; and your time has come to an end!" He held up a large shard of glowing dark Energon and threw it down upon the ancient battlefield. It sunk into the ground, causing purple cracks to appear across the surface of the earth. "RISE MY ARMY!"

Undead Cybertronians began to come up from the ground before the heroes. "By the Allspark!"

Megatron could see the fear in all their eyes, "Behold! The power of Dark Energon!" The undead warriors slowly lumbered towards the Autobots and Keybearers!

"He desecrated the graves of not only Autobots but of his own men as well."

"Not even the dead are safe from Megatron's hand."

The leader of the Decepticons, laughed, surrounding himself with purple flames, "DESTROY THEM!"

* * *

Sitting at his desk, back at Radiant Garden, Ansem sighed, rubbing his forehead. (13)

" _Master Ansem, are you feeling well?_ "

"I'm just fine, Tron." He spread out a set of papers before him. "Tron, if I were to send someone into your world would you be able to extract data from their heart?"

The program lay silent for a moment. " _Well, in theory, I could. However, it could hurt them. Why do you ask?_ "

"I stored some data in a person's heart, data that could offer some sort of atonement for my sins and repair the damage that I did to other people." The king pulled an ice cream stick out of his pocket. "Tron, prepare for the data extraction… I will do what I can to find atonement."

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Under-the-bridge drainage canal

(2) I'm sure some of you remember this name.

(3) Sound familiar? 

(4) Cybertronian speak for female. 

(5) Sora obviously never cared.

(6) I had to drop that line somewhere!

(7) Don't ask how she can understand Bee, I won't tell you. ;) 

(8) He's used to off-worlders since he deals with the Autobots so often.

(9) If you don't know what happened, go watch the first episode of Transformers Prime, you won't regret it!

(10)This is Starscream if you don't know.

(11)Dark Energon is the lifeblood of Unicron the destroyer.

(12)Totally got that from a meme.

(13)THANK YOU YAMICHAOS! He gave me the idea for this!

* * *

 **Out of the Way**

How many times do we go out of our way to really help someone, especially if that someone is very different from us?

By different, that could mean a different age group, race, cultural group, social group, political views, religious beliefs, etc.

Sometimes, we don't want to deal with people who are different or that we don't agree with on certain subjects, but how did Jesus deal with people from those different groups?

I'm going to look at one specific passage where Jesus deals with people who are different than him and his people. In biblical times, the Jews didn't associate with a group of people called the Samaritans. Why? The Samaritans were half-breeds and people who intermarried with invading and foreigners.

How much did they despise the Samaritans?

Well, Samaria was a region in the middle of Israel and the fastest route from Judea to Galilee was directly through Samaria. Jews would walk around Samaria, adding about three days of walking to their journey just to avoid Samaria.

Jesus was a Jew, but he acted a little differently. In John 4:3-4, we can see it. " _…he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria_." All the other Jews would go around Samaria, but here it says he HAD to go through Samaria. He went directly through it on purpose. Why?

To meet a woman.

John 4:5-9, " _So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour._

 _A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.' (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, 'How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?' (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)"_

Now we could read on, for there is a message further on as well, but there is something here to look for.

Jesus goes out of his way to reach those who were the outcasts of society. Not only was he in Samaria, talking to a Samaritan, but she was also a woman. Women in those times were much lower in society. Also, this woman was an outcast even among the other women. How do we know that? The verse says that it was about the sixth hour, now that doesn't mean 6 am, but it is the sixth hour after sunrise, so it was about noon.

Why is this important?

All the other women would go to the well in the morning, when it was cooler, to get water from the well. Coming around noon was not smart because that's when it really starts getting hot; we can surmise that she was probably trying to avoid the other women, by coming at a later time. Later in the passage, we find out more about her and possibly the reason she avoids the other women.

But, I digress. She was an outcast in society and in a place that Jesus, as a Jew, shouldn't have gone. But, because Jesus interacts with her, her entire town comes to believe in him. He went out of his way to bring the truth to people that may not have heard it otherwise.

We should do the same when we see people hurting, though they may not be like us, and it might be out of the social norm to interact with them, we should still do so. You never know what might come from that interaction.


	14. Chapter 14: Cyber Cite- End Game

**Here's the next chapter!**

 **Well, I'm kinda laid-up for a while. I sprained my ankle and so I'm supposed to stay off my foot. This means I have lots of time to write… but because I'm a hyper person, sitting around for a long time makes me bored.**

 **Hopefully, I get lots of crap done.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Transformers © to Hasbro**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Cyber Cite- End Game**

* * *

The Keybearers drew their Keyblades, staring down the army of robot zombies that lumbered towards them. Optimus's hands turned into a blaster, and he began shooting. The shots, that normally would have killed anyone else, only seemed to stun the approaching zombies.

"Optimus, if these guys are already dead… how can we possibly defeat them?" Lea asked nervously, as the enemies drew nearer.

"Ratchet, Lea, Riku, Aqua, Mickey retreat; bridge yourselves back to base."

"No!" Ratchet exclaimed, his hands turning into small swords, "I shall stand with you, Optimus."

"As will we!" Riku held up his Keyblade as the other warriors tensed up for battle.

The doctor stepped up beside his leader, "You may require a medic when this is all over." The group launched into the fray.

For the Keybearers, because of their size in comparison to these titans, they teamed up on their opponents. Aqua sliced a zombie's arm off and into numerous pieces. After a moment, the pieces stopped working. "I recommend dissection! The smaller the pieces, the better."

The Autobot leader changed his guns out for swords, "Sound advice." The group tore through the legion, cutting the zombies to pieces.

Megatron's glowing eyes glowed, fixed on the six below him, "I have mastered Dark Energon; when you fall Optimus you too shall join my army."

* * *

Donald cast Shieldza, protecting Jack and Raf as the Decepticons on the ship began shooting down at them.

Bulkhead transformed and drove between the boys and their attackers. "GET IN, NOW!" The two climbed inside; Miko, Donald, Goofy, and Ven were already inside. Bulkhead began to drive away from the battle, stopping behind a rock to let the organics out. "Ven, could you please stay with them?"

"Yes, Donald Goofy go with him, I can handle this." The two remained inside Bulkhead's vehicle form as the bot drove off.

The Autobot drove towards the Cons as fast as he could, drawing their fire away from where the kids were. He went around behind the ship, towards a rock wall; Bulkhead transformed and began to climb upwards with Donald and Goofy on his shoulders. Climbing until he stood level with a ship, with a great leap, the bot lunged across to the ship. All the Decepticons turned their attention to them, but not before the Disney Town residents and Autobot began their assault.

As the last Decepticon fell, the three heard a loud banging from inside Bulkhead's chest-plate. The plate opened to reveal Miko, hiding in a small compartment in his chest. "Miko?"

"I heaved on your floor mats," the girl gasped, "sorry…" She looked ready to 'heave' again as she climbed into the bot's hand.

"What are you doing here Miko?" Donald squawked angrily.

The girl shook her head. "Remind me never to do that again!"

Bulkhead fell forward as another Decepticon drone tackled him from behind, causing Miko to fly from his hand; he threw it off and Donald struck it with Thundza. As Goofy ran to Miko's side, two more drones came up from the ship. As one reached for the human girl, Goofy hit it in the face with his shield. More Decepticons appeared, training their weapons on Bulkhead.

The Autobot grabbed a huge satellite dish off the warship and lobbed it at the Decepticons, crushing the smaller bots underneath it. He picked up Miko just as more enemies began to shoot at him from behind. "Donald, Goofy, come on!" They leaped into an open hatch and disappeared into the ship.

* * *

Jack, Raf, and Ven looked on from behind the rock below the ship; Ventus wanted to go up and help, but he couldn't leave the other two boys without protection. His eyes followed the battle until the four slipped inside the ship.

"You boys shouldn't have run off!" Jiminy huffed, still catching his breath as he had followed the boys through the groundbridge, but couldn't keep up very well.

"Think they forgot about us?" asked Raf, ignoring the cricket.

"Don't worry, Raf," Ven smiled, "They won't forget us."

"Oh really?" The Keybearer tensed at a sneering, familiar voice. He spun around; every cell in his body tensed as he saw Vanitas(1). The dark version of himself had his arm around Raf and his Keyblade at the boy's throat.

Two Decepticons stood there as well, weapons pointed at the boys. Ven's face contorted in anger. "Let him go!"

"Sure, once you surrender."

"Wh-what's going on!?" Jack shuddered. "Why does he look like that Sora guy? Who is he? What does he want?"

Ven laid a hand on the other boy's shoulder. "Vanitas, let him go and I'll surrender."

The black-haired boy grinned. "Get over here, then." Ven walked over, glaring at his counterpart; Vanitas glared back before pulling back his Keyblade, smashing the hilt into the back of Ven's head, rendering him unconscious.

* * *

Miko sat in Bulk's hand as he ran through the ship; the other two stood on his shoulders. The girl bounced, her face contorting as she held her stomach, trying to keep herself from throwing up. They came around a corner and found themselves faced with two Decepticons.

Bulkhead slid the human girl across the floor and under the Cons, allowing him, Donald, and Goofy to attack, bringing down the drones in moments.

"Uh, I'm gonna heave again." Miko gagged as Bulkhead picked her up and kept on running.

* * *

Ven groaned, his focus coming back in slowing as his head throbbed from Vanitas' blow. He tried to move, only to see his arms and legs bound tightly with a thick metal wire. His struggles alerted the Decepticon drone who carried him, and it tightened its grip around the boy. Ven looked around, and he could see another Decepticon carrying Jack and Raf; Jiminy hid in the collar of Raf's shirt, seemingly unnoticed by the Decepticons.

"Bring them to the brig," the one holding Ven said, "Commander Starscream is keeping the other human there."

"Fowler…"

A roar of engines echoed down a hall to their right as Arcee and Bumblebee came roaring towards them; the bots transformed, Bumblebee holding Sora and Kairi. The slammed into the Cons, knocking them down; Arcee caught Jack and Raf while Bumblebee caught Ven.

The bots set the humans down, and Bumblebee began undoing the wires around Ven as Arcee sighed. "Appreciate you clearing the front door for us, but storming the Decepticon warship was not on the activities list."

"Tell me about it!" The group ran down a long hallway and stopped at a corner. Arcee bent around, gun out, and found herself staring at Bulkhead.

"Friendly!"

"Hello!"

"Brought the others huh?" Kairi asked.

"You try getting them to stay behind!"

"We need to find Fowler and get these kids out of here!" Arcee crossed her arms, an annoyed look crossing her features.

"Uh," Ven, Jack, and Raf stuttered, "He's in the brig."

* * *

The organics, still fighting the robot zombies, felt their strength slowly falling away. Normally fighting for this long wouldn't exhaust them, but something sapped their strength. Even the two Cybertronians seemed sluggish.

"Optimus," grunted the medic, "This prolonged exposure to Dark Energon is sapping our strength."

Mickey nodded, "It's the same with us."

"We cannot falter now," the Prime encouraged.

The zombies began closing in on Mickey and Riku; Optimus, seeing this, stood over them and the dark creatures clambered onto the Prime and began weighing him down. The same thing happened to Ratchet.

Megatron was very happy about the way this fight was going. Beside him, a dark portal opened and a man in a black coat stepped out, "How interesting. I am surprised that they have held their own against your dark army. This dark matter is very useful."

"Indeed human, and I must thank you for guiding me to the first shard off-world."

"I did so because I knew it would be of help to myself." The man looked down, eyes locking with Lea. Under the hood, Lea saw an x-shaped scar between the glowing golden eyes(2).

Optimus's blade shot out through the pile of zombies atop him. He began blasting all those on top of them and broke out in a fury. The group ran over, pulling Ratchet from under his pile of zombies. "After all these years Optimus," Megatron praised, "Still at the top of your game."

The vessel of Xehanort turned to leave; Lea ran forward and shouted, "ISA! ISA!"

The man stopped, a gust of wind pulling back the hood slightly, so the others could see the unemotional golden eyes and the strands of blue hair. "Isa…" Riku may not have known the young man, but he knew that Isa was innocent. A tool in Xehanort's plan, like Riku himself, had been.

"Megatron is working with humans?"

"It is only a temporary arrangement." The blue-haired man opened a dark corridor and vanished.

Optimus had heard enough talk, he charged Megatron and the others followed. "My legion," Megatron ordered, "Finish them!"

* * *

The inside the Decepticon warship made it to the bridge; the Autobots shot the guards who stood inside, clearing the room. "Clear!"

Jack and the other two kids came in, looking around the room as Sora walked over to them, "Wait in here."

"But Sora…"

Bumblebee chirped something in protest as well, but Arcee held up a hand, "They're slowing us down and they're easy targets! They'll be alright in here, as long as they stay put."

The three kids stood behind as they all walked in the door. Kairi felt Sora take her hand in his, "Kairi, could you stay here with them?"

"Sora?"

He looked her in the eyes, "Please, they're scared, and they need someone to watch out for them. Who better than you?" She nodded and stood over beside the other three as the others left.

When the door to the bridge closed Miko vibrated with excitement and leftover adrenaline, "That, was intense!"

"Was?"

Jack turned on her furiously, "It's your fault that we're stuck in this intensity! What were you thinking Miko?"

"Uh, did I ask you to follow me?"

"You wanted us to be a band! Doesn't that usually mean playing together?"

"Well, maybe I decided to go solo!"

"Well, maybe I have some regard for your safety!"

"Oh," Miko rolled her eyes, "Is your name Optimus? You can leave my protection to Bulkhead, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"

"Ah!" Little Raf clenched his fists, and Kairi saw tears of fear in his eyes. "STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!" He ran over to a giant step and sat down.

Kairi came over and sat beside him; Jack and Miko, their fight abandoned, did the same. "Have a little faith, Rafael. The Autobots have noble hearts, they will not leave any of us behind." Jiminy leapt up on the boy's shoulder, patting it, "They will come back."

"How do you know?"

The cricket opened his mouth to answer, but Kairi suddenly piped up, her eyes staring upwards at a computer screen, covered in alien writing. "Hey Raf, what do you make of that?"

They all looked up at the screen. Raf stood up, adjusting his glasses as he walked towards it. All fear gone, replaced with determined curiosity, "It's important, real important!"

* * *

Sora and the others continued to battle their way towards the brig and finally stood right outside the doors. The brown-haired boy gave a big smile and knocked hard on the big doors. Bulkhead held up a dead drone, to make it seem like they weren't there.

A slim silver bot, the same one who destroyed the Energon mine, opened the door. Fowler hung from chains behind him. "Well?"

Bulk dropped the drone and pointed his blaster at the bot. Ven and Sora shot up and destroyed the only drone in the room. "Who is that," Sora asked, looking the silver bot up and down, taking a second to snicker at the bot's high-heeled feet(3).

"Well the drones who had me, Raf, and Jack mentioned a Commander Starscream, this could be him," Ven concluded. Bee and Bulk came in after the two humans, weapons at the ready.

Starscream's arm changed into a blaster and he pointed it at Fowler, "Not so fast!" He paused as another blaster tapped the top of his head.

He looked up and there he saw Arcee, Donald, and Goofy, hanging from a vent, with weapons aimed at his head. "I wouldn't."

"Oh," seeker snarled back, "But I might."

* * *

Kairi and the others stared up at the formula before Raf turned to them. "We've gotta get this to Optimus!"

Miko sighed, "How do you know it isn't just a recipe for space nachos?"

"I know math when I see it, and that is one serious equation!"

"Can you download it?" Kairi approached the boy, looking around for any sort of port to download the data from.

"I've got a flash drive!" Raf dug through his backpack and pulled it out. "But I don't see anywhere to plug it in."

"Um Raf," Kairi sighed, "I don't think they had human tech in mind when they designed this thing, sorry."

"Yea, this tech is way alien!"

"There you are." They all turned at the sly voice and saw a figure in a black coat behind them. "I was wondering where you went off to."

"You again," Jack began to back away. "You're the guy who captured us!"

"Heh, that was just for fun. I came here to get a little more acquainted with some of my new friends." The man took off his hood and Kairi stared into the golden eyes of Vanitas. "So, you must be Princess Kairi."

"Princess?"

Vanitas walked a circle around them. "You know, Princess, I can understand why Sora has a thing for you. You're quite the looker."

"Ugh!" Kairi summoned her Keyblade. "Stay back, you pig!"

The young man summoned his own Keyblade, "Good! Let's see what you're made of."

* * *

Sora and Ven looked up, their eyes locked on Fowler who still hung by chains, at gunpoint. Starscream grinned, "Now, Agent Fowler and I will take our leave."

As the seeker moved to leave, Fowler let out a loud, half-conscious groan. "The emu says 'YYEEEEAAA'!"

Sora had to stop himself from laughing as Starscream, who turned and looked at the human; Ven took the opportunity to jab his Keyblade into the Decepticon's leg. The Con gave a frightened and pained shriek as he turned and the others began to attack him.

In a desperate attempt to escape he transformed into a sleek jet and shot out, blowing Arcee and the two on her shoulder flew back.

* * *

Vanitas lunged forward, slashing at Kairi. The girl blocked, getting in a few hits before he jumped back. "Not bad for a princess. Now, stop holding back and give me all you've got."

"If that's what you want!" Kairi charged him a bright light extending from her Keyblade as she slammed her blade into him.

Vanitas laughed, glancing over at the other three children who stood to the side, watching in horrified fascination. "Hey, catch!" He launched a Dark Fiagara spell towards Raf.

Jack pulled the boy out of the way just as the spell hit the ground below the boy's feet. "Miko take a picture!"

"Great idea!" She pulled out her phone and yelled, "Hey spikes!" Her phone clicked as she snapped a picture of Vanitas.

"Miko," Kairi yelled, "Not of him, of the formula!"

"Oh!" She took a quick photo before the three kids ran for the door.

Vanitas shrugged. "Whatever. I just wanted to test your strength girlie. When we meet again, Princess." He backed into a dark corridor, leaving behind blue monsters with red eyes.

"Crap!" Kairi turned, following the three kids out the door as fast as they could. As they stepped into the hall, a car horn sounded behind them. They all turned to see the three Autobots, with the others inside, driving towards them.

"I told you to stay put!" Arcee growled as the humans got on or inside the bots.

* * *

Optimus and the others finished off the last zombies, taking a moment to catch their breath as the Dark Energon continued to sap their strength.

"Bravo Optimus," Megatron praised, "Though this is but a prelude. You may wish to save your strength for the main event!"

The Prime put away his sword and began climbing the cliff wall towards Megatron. "You will not prevail Megatron. Not while Energon still flows through my veins."

The Decepticon leader grinned wickedly, "Fitting, for it is Dark Energon which flows through mine." Optimus leaped at him, but Megatron transformed and flew off.

Ratchet climbed up beside his leader, with the organics on his shoulders. "If this wasn't Megatron's end game, what is?"

* * *

Everyone sat in the Autobot base, fixing their wounds and thinking over the events of the last few hours. Fowler lay unconscious on a hospital bed; a Cure physically healed him, but it did not replenish all of his energy.

Miko looked over a Riku who sat, casting the healing spell over a gash in his leg, "What happened to you guys anyway?"

"We engaged an army of undead Cybertronian warriors."

Sora glanced over at him, eyes wide, "You guys fought robot zombies?" Riku nodded. "Wow, and I thought we had it rough."

"Zombies!" Miko gasped, "You fought zombies and I missed it?"

Lea got up, firmly grasping her shoulders, "Miko, do you understand? Every single one of us nearly got killed!"

"Bulkhead, you exercised extremely poor judgment in allowing Jack, Miko, and Raf to accompany you," Optimus quietly reprimanded the large bot.

"It won't happen again Optimus, I promise."

Miko came to her guardian's defense, "But it wasn't Bulkhead's fault!"

"Miko please!"

"And check it out," the girl pulled out her phone, "recon!"

Optimus bent down, staring closely at the photo, "Ratchet, take a look. It could be of some importance to Megatron."

Kairi looked over, "Megatron's back?"

"That's really bad news, right?"

Miko held up her phone for the medic, but Ven could see that she accidentally changed the picture. "I don't understand."

"Oops," Miko realized her mistake, "That's the creepy dude who fought Kairi and tried to blast Raf with black fire. At least before Kairi chased him off with her Keyblade!"

"Miko!" Jack yelled, "Raf was almost killed! This isn't a game! When are you gonna get that through your thick skull!"

"Um, we were all almost killed, Jack! You, me, Raf, even them!"

"Well, if this was just an average day with the Autobots then I don't wanna be a part of it, not anymore!"

Every eye fixed on the angry and scared boy; Optimus knelt down to the boy, understanding in his eyes, "Jack, putting you in harm's way was never our intent. However, it is no longer the safety of you three that is at risk, but the safety of all humans on this world. We will respect your decision if you wish to leave."

Ratchet swiftly opened up the Groundbridge, "No point in long goodbyes, here's the door."

"Jiminy," Kairi whispered, "can you say something to him, to make him change his mind."

"Sorry, Kairi. He's made his decision."

"Come-on Raf," Jack said turning to the younger boy.

But Raf looked over at Bumblebee and frowned, "I'll be ok Jack, see you at school."

"Sure thing." Jack went down the catwalk, only to be stopped by Arcee. "I know, you don't exist."

"Don't make me hunt you down." She sighed. With no other words, the boy left through the groundbridge.

Lea looked up at Optimus and quietly said, "After Miko and Raf go home, the rest of us will just camp out here and stay out of the way."

"Alright, Lea."

* * *

After the other kids had left and the rest of the gang went to bed, Riku, Mickey, and Aqua stayed up with Optimus, explaining their mission and Xehanort. Ratchet stood at the computer console, working on the schematics from Miko's phone. "It can't be… Optimus!" The leader came over, the Keybearers following. "These are engineering specs for a space-time vortex generator."

"Megatron's building a spacebridge if he hasn't already."

"Spacebridge?"

"Groundbridge, but travels further." Ratchet quipped.

Bulkhead huffed, "The sooner he leaves the better!"

"Bulkhead," Optimus said, "A space bridge runs in two directions. Megatron may not be using it to leave this world, but to bring through his conquering army."

"The main event Megatron referred to, but the only place Megatron could possibly recruit that many fallen warriors…"

"Precisely," he answered the medic, "Cybertron."

Aqua looked up at the Prime, "Optimus, we are willing to help. If there is anything we can do, we will do it. And because of our presence here, this world has a new danger, the Heartless and the Organization. We know that today two of our enemies are here and have already interfered in this world's affairs."

"They too could use the space bridge to their advantage; we will allow you to assist us in this battle."

"Thank you, Optimus."

* * *

We cannot allow Megatron to send Dark Energon through his space bridge. If we fail, the dead of Cybertron will rise, swarm through its vortex, and invade this world, bending the humans to Megatron's twisted rule."

"Optimus," Ratchet interjected, "I've pinpointed the location of Megatron's space bridge, high in this world's orbit."

Ven sighed, "Out of your reach. We have our gliders and the gummi ship, but you guys need to get up there as well."

"Ok, so you guys don't fly," Miko leaned against Bulkhead's leg, "But can't you just Groundbridge there?"

"I think it's called a 'ground' bridge for a reason, Miko."

Ratchet agreed, "The Groundbridge has limited range. Stretched all the way into orbit its vortex could snap and scatter us to the stars."

Optimus laid a hand on his medic's shoulder, "Since Megatron may already be in transit, I'm afraid we must take that risk. Reaching the spacebridge first is our only means of stopping him."

Then, to their surprise, Arcee drove inside, with Jack. The boy got off, took off his helmet, and grinned sheepishly, "Hey! Guess who's back?"

"Autobots prepare for departure."

Arcee, who missed the conversation, asked, "Where to?"

Miko answered it for her, "The final frontier!"

"Space! I thought they didn't have any way to get there?"

"They don't," Raf admitted, "really…"

Jack looked up at his guardian, "Be seein' ya."

Ratchet set in the coordinates and turned on the Groundbridge. The Autobots transformed; Ven and Aqua activated their armor and summoned their gliders as the others teleported up to the gummi ship.

Sora leaped into the pilot seat, feeling Jiminy hop off his shoulder and start up the engines; the ship roared to life, and the boy flew it towards a giant metal ring as the groundbridge opened. The bots fell through, standing on the ring. Aqua and Ven flew around them. Those inside the gummi ship opened up communications and could hear everything that the others said.

Across from them stood the giant Decepticon warship. It sat there stationary, for a long while. "Well, what are they waiting for?"

Optimus studied the ship carefully, " _It appears the Decepticons have sustained serious damage to their interstellar navigation system._ "

"Huh, that's my handiwork," Bulkhead beamed.

"Good going Bulk!"

"Yes," Aqua agreed, " _Without the dish, Megatron won't be able to lock onto Cybertron!_ "

Donald asked the comlink, "Don't the Cons know where their own world is?"

" _Naturally!_ " the medic scoffed, " _But Cybertron is many light years away, to reach their target their aim must be astronomically precise._ "

" _Well if Megs went to the trouble of coming here now, then he must have another way to lock on._ "

" _Yes Ventus, he must have a remote system somewhere on the planet._ "

Ratchet scoffed, " _From what I know of this world's technology I doubt there exists a single radio telescope dish on this planet powerful enough to pinpoint Cybertron._ "

"But what about a whole lotta telesoaps?"

"Telescopes!"

"Sorry telescopes," Goofy fixed his words.

" _Yes,_ " Raf agreed, " _Like the giant size array in Texas._ "

" _Zip-ip-ip-ip! This is not child's play!_ "

Optimus, however, backed the boy up, " _Good thinking Raf. Ratchet, have Agent Fowler alert the array staff to the security hazard._ "

They just barely heard Fowler's, disoriented voice over the comm, " _You soldier! You're out of uniform! Put on some pants!_ " This sent the Keybladers into a frenzy of laughter.

" _That may be a challenge._ "

" _I can't get past the array's firewalls_ ," they heard Raf tell Ratchet; " _They're too thick!_ "

"Wait!" Lea exclaimed, "You actually think you could keep the Decepticons out?"

" _Maybe, if I could get in_."

Jack offered the solution, " _Wait… Raf, what if we could get you all the way in, like inside the building in?_ "

" _I could log into their internal network on the other side of the firewall._ "

" _The risk is too great_ ," Optimus objected, " _The Decepticons will be there, perhaps even on site._ "

" _Optimus, with all due respect, you said it yourself this is bigger than the safety of three humans,_ " Jack calmly countered.

Miko added, " _Yea! If we let the Cons win we're fragged, along with everyone else on our planet!_ "

" _Raf?_ "

There was silence, and then the boy said, " _I wanna give it a shot!_ "

* * *

The comm went silent as a large dark mass rose up from the Decepticon warship. The creature unfurled a large metallic tail from around its body and spread two metal wings out wide, giving it the appearance of a large metal dragon. Then the Heartless symbol appeared on its wings. The Cyber Killer Heartless gave a roar and flew at the small band of defenders(4).

"Scrap!" Bulkhead stared at the monster, "How are we supposed to beat this thing?"

Riku grabbed the comlink. "Follow our lead."

Sora tightened his grip on the ship's controls as they shot forward, towards the approaching monster.

The Heartless roared as the Autobots and the gummi ship began firing on it. Ven and Aqua flew in close, swiping at it with their gliders

Ven flew above the creature, turned his glider nose downward, held onto the back, and sliced the creature's tail right off. With a shriek, it whipped around and caught the boy in its mouth.

"VENTUS!" Optimus fired a blast directly into the Cyber Killer's eye, causing it to roar and giving Ven the chance to escape its crushing jaws.

"Thanks, Optimus, I owe you one!"

Those in the gummi ship used every gun on board to attack the creature, making it angrier and angrier. Arcee lunged forward as it got close, driving her blade into its throat, followed up by Aqua slashing across the back of its neck. The Heartless let out a roar as it vanished into the darkness.

As soon as the Heartless faded, the warship swarmed with Decepticons, all gunning for the Autobots and Keyblade wielders.

In the middle of the battle, the spacebridge shuddered. While only the Autobots felt it, the movement was so great, it attracted everyone's attention, "What's going on?"

"The Cons must be locking onto Cybertron!" Aqua gasped. "Hopefully Raf can keep them from finishing."

Minutes later, the device shifted back to its original position. Everyone grinned as Bumblebee jumped, letting out whirls of excitement."

"Indeed Bumblebee, this can only be Raf's doing!" Optimus agreed.

Again, the spacebridge shifted, but this time it did not turn back. The whirling green light spun into existence as the Decepticons locked onto their homeworld.

"What'll we do now?"

Everyone looked at the warship and saw Megatron holding a humongous Dark Energon shard. "At last!" The Decepticon leader threw it towards the vortex. As it flew overhead, the Keyblade wielders flew at it to knock it away, but the Cons held them back with blaster fire. The giant shard of Dark Energon vanished into the space-time vortex.

Ven hung his head, "We… we failed."

"No!" Aqua shouted, "There's always a way!"

In the gummi ship, Riku fixed his eyes on Megatron, "What's he doing?" The Decepticon leader stood there, with two auras glowing around him; one, the purple glow of Dark Energon and the other, the black aura of darkness. "Whether he has a human-like heart or not, darkness has invaded it."

"ARISE MY LEGION!" Megatron spread his arms out wide and grinned savagely.

"So, how do we beat a whole planet of the undead?"

Ratchet's voice came over the comlink again, " _Optimus! I'm registering a rapidly expanding mass in their spacebridge vortex, one with a peculiar energy signature._ "

"Dark Energon."

The Prime took but a moment to think, "Ratchet, we must destroy the spacebridge! There's enough live Energon coursing through it to achieve detonation."

"But we don't have the firepower to ignite it," Lea sighed.

" _If I knew how the spacebridge was engineered,_ " Ratchet grunted, " _I might find a technical way of accomplishing that feat._ "

Sora then heard Rafael's cheerful voice, " _Would schematics help_?"

"Again, way to go Raf!"

Ratchet did not speak for a moment, but a dark sadness rang in his voice when he finally said something. " _Optimus, I must say, the spacebridge is our sole hope of ever returning to Cybertron. Are you certain its destruction is the only option?_ "

All eyes turned to Optimus, "I am afraid so."

" _Then, by all means, let us light our darkest hour_!"

"Autobots and Keyblade wielders take your positions and follow Ratchet's lead, while I make my stand!"

The Autobots and two armored Keybearers went to their positions while those in the gummi ship shielded them from the blaster fire of the remaining Decepticons.

"Ratchet, we're in position."

" _Arcee, pay close attention._ "

She turned back to the others, "Cover my back, ok?"

"Got it!"

They all stood, weapons at the ready while the femme followed the medic's orders. They heard none of the instructions, only Arcee saying, "I see it." Then she grunted and turned a gear of some sorts, "Current reversed!"

" _I'll ready the Groundbridge!_ "

"Look out!" The group looked up and saw Megatron flying straight towards them. The gummi ship laid down heavy fire, but the leader paid it no mind as the blasts speckled his armor. He began to shoot down at those on the spacebridge; most of his shots missed but two made their mark, on Ven and Arcee.

"Ven!" Both started floating off the spacebridge.

The spacebridge began to shake once again, this time more vehemently. Underneath their feet, Energon glowed and ignited, causing explosions and electrical currents of unimaginable strength to come their way.

"We need to go now!"

"Autobots," Optimus came running up, "Jump!"

Off the edge of the spacebridge opened the Groundbridge. As they headed towards it Bumblebee grabbed Arcee, and Aqua grabbed Ven.

"Megatron is not going to make it," Lea said, "He is not going to leave, he's too stubborn." They all looked back to see him standing at the center of the bridge, looking inside before the group flew away and teleported back to base.

* * *

Those in the gummi ship arrived back at the base just as Bumblebee helped Arcee stand. Ven sat nearby, rubbing chest where Megatron shot him.

"What about Megatron?" Miko asked.

"Not even he could have survived ground zero."

"Prime!" called out Agent Fowler, who now looked fully awake, "I didn't get to thank you bots for the save. I owe you one… we all do." The elevator closed as Agent Fowler left.

"So," Jack looked over at Sora. "You guys sticking around?"

Sora sighed, "We're glad we could help out, but it's time we moved on now. We have a war of our own after all "

"You shall be missed."

"Hey," Miko yelped, "What's going on!?" Her cell phone lit up brightly and floated into the air.

"Who wants it?"

Lea summoned his Keyblade, "I believe it's my turn." He sealed the Keyhole and explained to the surprised bots and kids. "That means a new world is waiting."

"Then we'll be seeing you."

Optimus knelt down to the Keyblade wielders. "Thank you for your assistance. If there is anything we can ever do to assist you, let us know."

"We will," Sora gave him a thumbs up.

"Goodbye!"

The group said their goodbyes and went back to their ship.

* * *

Kairi laid back on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. Her hand went to her back. "Wings… where did they come from? What made me black out?" She closed her eyes, concentrating.

In this, the girl slipped into a place between dreams and wakefulness. A kind voice spoke in her mind. " _Hey there, Flower Girl. Miss me?_ "

" _Come on_ ," spoke a deeper and slightly annoyed voice, " _Let's get ice cream! Sound good, Kairi?_ "

The girl's eyes opened. "I know those voices… but I just can't, place them." Her hands went to her head. "What is going on? I'd ask Lea, but I get the feeling that he won't tell me… I'll just have to wait for Lara to find some info back on Radiant Garden."

"Kairi?" Sora's voice came on the other side of the door. "May I come in?"

Kairi sat up, quickly straightening her rumpled locks of hair. "Yeah, come on in."

"Hey," Sora came in, smiling, carrying a small plate covered by a cloth. "I made some cookies, used my mom's recipe too."

"Yes! Your mom makes the best cookies!"

"Did I hear that someone made Mrs. Kumo's cookies?" Riku poked his head in. "Give me some."

The other two laughed. "Here, I thought it might be fun for us to have some sweets."

Riku snatched up a cookie and ate it. "Man, I have missed these. Remember that your mom would make them for every birthday: yours, mine, Kairi's?"

"I know!" Sora bit into a cookie, smiling.

Kairi took a bite of hers before pausing. "Do you guys miss home too? I mean, I've been trying to remember my past from before the islands, but I miss my parents on the islands too. I haven't seen them since I left for training."

"I know, I miss my family too." Riku sat down. "I need to go back and… well, you know." He pulled a small object from his pocket. Everyone looked at it with a sad expression.

"I'm sorry, Riku."

* * *

Ven sat up, late into the night, his mind plagued by dark memories of his past. Ever since he and Vanitas merged thirteen years before, his old memories, his life before Master Eraqus, Terra, and Aqua, returned(5).

All the old pain. He'd dealt with it while inside Sora's heart, but the pain still remained and tormented him in the night. Now he sat at the desk in his small gummi ship room, drawing.

He remembered his conversations with Naminé, inside Sora. He'd told her all his past and all his memories that surfaced. She taught him to draw his memories in order to help deal with them. Sometimes he thought about asking Jiminy for help... but he always talked himself out of it.

So, that is what he did. The drawing in front of him, it was the same as a drawing he'd made when he was a little boy. He drew himself standing beside a man and woman, both with blonde hair, like his.

For a moment, he stared down at the drawing. His hands trembled as he crumpled it in his fists and threw it across the room. "Why should I care anyways…?" Throwing himself onto his bed, the boy curled up in a ball as he forced himself to sleep.

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this one!**

 **I do not know if there will be a return trip. I'm trying to use the system that Kh3 is using and do fewer worlds, but make them at least two chapters in length.**

 **If you would like them to return here, let me know.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) It was Young Xehanort in the original story, but I changed it.

(2) In the original, it was Braig here.

(3) If you follow the TFPrime show, you know that Screamer is the butt of every joke, and we love making fun of his high heels.

(4) This Heartless is based on the Predacons in season 3 of the show.

(5) I AM NOT going to what has happened in KHux. I know what is going on there, but I had this planned out before all that, so I am keeping my old plan. 

* * *

**Final Say**

If you live in the USA, there has been an issue that has come up lately, and while I won't say what it is, it does have to do with sports… that should give it away.

Now, there are strong opinions on both sides, and I'm not going to condemn either side in this.

Now, a lot of hatred about this has been coming from Christians, or more those who claim to be Christians (check earlier Devo for something on that). As Christians, if we see an injustice, we are to help correct it.

And if people do something that we don't understand, we should look at why they are doing it and not just assume they're doing it to tick off people.

And those who may be doing the action, make sure that your message is clear and try to help others understand why you're doing what you're doing. I am not saying that those involved haven't clearly told their message, but I am saying that some people do not know.

More than anything, no one needs to show hatred to someone. If someone disagrees with you, then you should still love them.

Did the Bible say we would always agree with our neighbor? No.

Did the Bible say that our neighbors would believe the same things as us? No.

Does the Bible say to love our neighbors? YES!

That should be the final say in how we treat others. No matter if we agree or not.


	15. Chapter 15: Devil's Bayou- Penny

**And here we are… we have reached the rewrite of the first chapter that made me cry over my own works, or at least the first part of it.**

 **Let's see if I can get through this world without crying… I probably will fail (because I'm a sap).**

 **By the way, check out my website: kirstenverne . com**

 **I just published the second story in my series that is leading up to my novels! Both stories are only 99 cents each!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **The Rescuers © to Disney!**

 **OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Devil's Bayou- Penny**

* * *

Sora woke up, stretching as he walked into the common area of the ship. "Morning, everyone."

"Morning," Lea reached into the fridge, pausing. "Uh, where did these cookies come from?"

"Sora made them." Riku snatched the plate away and shoved another cookie into his mouth. "He used his mom's recipe. Those are the best cookies in all the worlds."

Everyone stared at the young man. Kairi giggled. "Riku, share the cookies. I want one."

"I didn't know you could bake, Sora."

The boy laughed. "My mom taught me. She likes sweets, so she makes them a lot. Baking cookies and cakes were kind of a mother-son bonding thing that we did."

"Speaking of," Goofy cocked his head, "You've never talked about your families before."

"I know." Sora sighed. "When we first met, I was more worried about Riku and Kairi. I knew my dad would take care of my mom, and I knew in my heart that they were safe(1). When we were dealing with Xemnas, after Kairi was kidnapped, I was scared Xemnas might try and kidnap my parents. That's actually why I don't talk much about them now. Riku, Kairi, and I were talking about home last night; while we are homesick and want to see our families again, we don't want Xehanort finding them, so we have to stay away."

Mickey frowned. "I'm sorry, I wish you could go home."

"We're fine."

Riku nodded with a smile. "Our parents know what we're doing, and they support us all the way."

"So, what are your parents like?" Lea snagged a cookie and chomped down on it.

Sora leaned back in a chair, sighing. "Well, my parents are a lot of fun. My mom is super bubbly and optimistic, but she's also really protective. You know why I'm in these clothes instead of my drive clothes? My mom burned my drive clothes because of all the X's on them, you know since Xehanort used an X to track me before. I went home for one night and when I woke up these clothes were waiting for me and my mom left a note saying she burned my other ones."

"She really takes the term 'mama bear' to another level."

"Yeah, she does, Aqua." The brown-haired boy laughed. "And my dad has been my role model since I was a kid. He puts others before himself and is really nice to everyone, but he does try to find a purpose in everything, even if there's no way it can be used again… and it's kinda made him a bit of a hoarder. In his mind, everything still has a purpose and use, even if it's wood scraps that have been splintered and broken apart(2). Though sometimes, his hoarding can be useful. These clothes are actually his athletic training gear from when he was in college. Good thing Mom gave them to me before they just sat in the attic, never to be used again."

"So, what do your parents do?" Donald asked.

Sora grinned widely. "My dad's the head beach lifeguard! He keeps an eye on the beach to keep people from drowning. He saved me a few times when I was little. And my mom is a librarian."

"Your parents are so… ordinary."

"So am I," Sora shrugged. "I'm just a regular kid, unlike a lot of you."

"What do you mean?" Riku stared at his friend, the words of Master Xehanort echoing in his mind; that old man called Sora a 'dull, ordinary boy'.

The boy picked up another cookie. "I was never chosen by the Keyblade. The Keyblade rejected Riku and I just happened to be nearby and I just happened to have Ven in my heart. I was in the right place at the right time. I never had any obligations to help the worlds; I wasn't some hero from a prophecy. I'm just a kid who knew that people were in trouble and I wanted to help. I'm just an ordinary guy.(3)"

All eyes stared at him. "Sora…"

"Don't act so serious, guys!" Sora laughed, "Riku, why don't you tell them about your parents? They're just as ordinary as mine."

His laughter broke the spell of silence as Riku smirked. "Fine. My dad is a really tall, muscular guy; he does a lot of physical work as a boat builder. He looks really intimidating and can be really threatening, but he's gentle; the kids know him as a gentle giant. My mom is small; she's about Ven's height and very petite. It's honestly a miracle that she was able to have kids; that's how small she is physically. As I said, my dad builds boats. My mom is the high school principal; she can handle dealing with kids that are not her own. However, when it comes to me, she is very panicky. She freaks out about every little thing; I know it's only because she worries. Dad describes her as delicate and that means physically and emotionally."

"Yeah," Lea drawled, "You definitely take after your dad. By the way, what are your parent's names?"

"Asher and Artemis Tsuchi," Riku admitted.

"And yours, Sora?"

The other boy looked over, "Levi and Marion Kumo."

"My turn!" Kairi piped up. "My dad, Isaac Mizu, is the mayor of the islands. He's super nice and loves to help others. He is loved by everyone and has been reelected twice as mayor, though it does help that maybe only one other person runs against him. My mom is named Talitha and she used to be a prosecution lawyer, but now she runs a company that specializes in disaster relief and rebuilding."

"Why do you need that?" Jiminy asked. "Your world is really small."

Riku rolled his eyes. "We're in the middle of the ocean. Huge storms happen every autumn, called typhoons. They can destroy our entire town in hours. We also have tsunamis when earthquakes happen, and there is the fact that our entire town sits at the base of a volcano; that volcano is active and erupts every few months, but only with small lava flows. Every twenty years the mountain blows its top and we have to evacuate(4)."

"Yep," Kairi nodded. "Our homes are made of really strong, but easy to find material so that we can rebuild. It's a big business, and my mom has a lot of responsibilities when it comes to running it."

Lea blinked. "Whoa… Kairi, when did they adopt you?"

"About a week after I arrived on the islands. My mom, well, she can't have kids, so they paid for all my medical needs when I arrived. After searching for any family I might have and finding none, they adopted me straight away. My psychiatrist says that I was really nervous at first, so they brought our dog, Dante, to meet me before I went home with them. Dad says, the second thing I ever said to them was 'doggie', and that was when that big Great Dane came into the room."

Aqua smiled. "So, you don't have siblings, Kairi, but do either of you boys have siblings?"

"Unless you count my cat, I'm an only child." Sora shrugged.

Riku didn't respond at first. His hand moved subconsciously to his pocket as his expression fell. "I-I don't have any siblings either…"

Sora and Kairi glanced at him worriedly, but he shook off his gloomy expression. "What about the rest of you? We talked about our families, now it's your turn."

"Fine," Lea scratched the back of his head. "My parents both work for a power company called Shinra. It's been disbanded since the world fell, partially because the president of the company provided Xehanort with resources. My mom, her name is Cissnei, trains some of their agents, and my dad, Reno… well, I haven't seen him in twenty years. He went off on a job with his group and never came back. There's not much more to say, but my mom did teach me to use chakrams. What about you, Aqua?"

The Keyblade master looked down; the others could see that she wasn't quite comfortable with telling her own story, but she let out a long sigh and spoke. "My parents were named Rebecca and John Maris. They died when I was seven years old."

"Oh, sorry, Aqua. You don't have to say anymore." Sora laid a hand on her shoulder, seeing her discomfort.

"No, it's alright." She shook her head. "It was a long time ago. I won't delve too much into the details of the situation, but my home caught on fire when we were inside. My parents died trying to put it out. I would have died, but my master, Master Eraqus, got inside and pulled me out. That's when he took me in."

"I'm sorry that happened to you."

"Thank you, Kairi," the female Keyblade master smiled. "Now, we've stood around and talked long enough. Who wants breakfast?"

"Me!"

* * *

"Hey, Ven, you never told us about your family," Sora looked over at the blond boy.

"Honestly, I would rather not talk about it."

The brown-haired boy raised an eyebrow. "You sure, man?"

"I'm sure, but thanks for trying to include me in the conversation." Ven sighed, looking out at the passing stars. "After merging with Vanitas so long ago, I remembered all of my past, but it's something I wish I could continue to forget."

Sora patted his friend on the back. "I'm sorry. If you ever need someone to talk to, we're all here for you."

"Thanks." The console beeped as they approached a new world. Ven felt relief; here was something to take his mind from this conversation, and to make the others forget about asking him any more questions. He pressed the intercom button and called into it. "Guys, we're at a new world!"

* * *

The group landed in the darkness of night. Lea sniffed the air and took a few steps, shaking mud and gunk from the bottom of his boots. "Well, this is just great! We've landed in a swamp"

"That's not all," Goofy exclaimed, pointing at the blades of grass that towered overhead, and the trees which looked to be as tall as the castle at Radiant Garden. "We've shrunk!"

Jiminy appeared on Sora's shoulder. "Well, at least you all know how it feels to be my size."

Ven groaned, "I hate it when this happens. Everything's harder when you're smaller!"

"When did this happen to you before?"

"Cinderella's world, I had to fight her stepmother's stupid cat because it tried to eat me." the blond boy exclaimed.

"Whoa," Donald shuddered, "I really hope there aren't any cats around here."

"Same…"

Kairi and Sora had taken to looking around. They pushed aside some tall, thick reeds. "Hey, guys! Look!"

The others came over peeking through the reeds; on the other side, they saw a small, ramshackle hut, leaning against a tree. Not far from the house, four figures stood, peering through the grass, towards the waterway. Two were muskrats, one in an apron stood larger than the other who wore a wide-brimmed hat that covered his eyes. Beside these two stood two mice; one, a smaller grey mouse in a red shirt and red beret, stood beside a white mouse with a purple bow around her neck and a purple ushanka.

The group could see them watching two huge alligators come by, followed by a woman on a swamp mobile. Sora stepped out from behind the reeds, making enough noise to alert the four creatures. "Uh, hi."

"Who are you?" asked the white mouse.

"I'm Sora. My friends and I just arrived. We were wondering what was going on." He pointed as the others stepped into the open.

The white mouse smiled, "Hello, I'm Miss Bianca from the Rescue Aid Society, and this is my co-agent Bernard." She gestured to the mouse beside her before turning to the two muskrats. "These two are Ellie Mae and Luke."

"Nice to meet you." Introductions went by swiftly as Mickey looked in the direction that the alligators and the woman went in. "So, what were they up to?"

His answer came in the rustling of weeds as the two alligators passed directly by them; their eyes went up, staring at the two reptiles and their newly-captured quarry. The first gator carried a raggedy teddy bear in its mouth, and the other carried a girl by her underpants. The girl struggled, swinging her tiny fists at the animal that held her.

"Oh no!" Kairi covered her mouth, "What are they doing with her?"

"Oh it's that young 'un," Ellie Mae drawled, "She tried to run away again."

"Run away?"

"That woman is holding her prisoner." Bianca huffed.

"That's terrible!"

Ven took off running after the alligators. "We've got to follow them and see where they're taking her!" He summoned his glider, allowing some of the others to climb on as Aqua did the same. The two mice ran to a boat made of leaves and started to follow.

They zipped through the swamp, getting turned around with all the trees and tall grass. After a short time of frantically searching, they spotted the two alligators once more. Following them, they soon came upon a large houseboat, floundering in the middle of the bog. A man with curly hair and glasses gestured the two alligators, with the girl and teddy bear, inside.

"Bring her right on in boys."

Everyone flew up to the windows, watching as the little girl swung her fists at the large reptiles. "Put me down Brutus!" The gator dropped her. "Freaky little dragon!"

"She's just a kid…" Riku's hand went to his pocket without him noticing. "We have to help her!"

"We will!"

The man patted the alligators, "Nice work… good boys." The alligators growled and snapped at him, making the man retreat atop a couch.

The little girl grabbed the teddy bear from the other alligator, kissing its head, "There, there Teddy, I won't let them do that to you again. Don't cry."

"Oh, Teddy, Teddy, Teddy, Teddy. Poor Teddy," Mocked the man, "All she ever thinks about is that simple bear. Now you behave or I'll let Nero and Brutus have your old teddy bear."

"You will not!" the girl snapped, "Besides, I'm not scared of 'em like you are, Mr. Snoops!"

"Ah, don't you sass me!" Snoops advanced on the girl before looking over at the alligators, "Uh, boys, take this naughty little girl to her room."

He pushed her towards the stairs, but she stopped, holding her chin up high, "I can go by myself. Thank You!" She turned on her heel, strutting up the stairs.

"Well, she looks perfectly capable of handling that man, but someone should go after and watch her." Lea snickered.

"Lea's right," Ven nodded, "Some of us should follow her while the others wait for Bernard and Bianca. I volunteer to follow the girl."

Kairi nodded, "Me too. Aqua, you want to come?"

The others climbed down to the ground and looked for the two mice as Ven, Aqua, and Kairi climbed upwards to where the girl had gone.

As soon as the larger group met up with Bernard and Bianca, they heard a loud voice screech, "Where is she? Where is she?" A woman with unkempt hair stormed in, waving a cane around.

"Uh, oh, where is she…" Snoops backed away nervously, "Oh, I, I sent her up to her room."

"Why did you let her escape? What is your alibi this time, nitwit?"

"Well, we know who's behind all this," Riku growled.

"Nitwit?" Snoops began pulling off her boots, "Well, don't blame me, Medusa. Those leather-headed lizards of yours… they're supposed to be patrolling the island. They let her get away."

Medusa wrapped her arms around the alligators, "Ha! My precious pets. We know who caught that ungrateful little brat, don't we? Hmm?"

"Well, it was your brilliant idea to use the little girl for this caper." Moving towards a large pipe to use as an entry to the boat's interior, the group continued to eavesdrop on the conversation. "If you had left it to me…"

"Snoops, you're not thinking."

Donald bounced, brandishing his staff, "Let's bash them and rescue the girl."

"Oh, poor little Penny." Bianca clasped her hands worriedly.

"Penny? That's the little girl's name?" The white mouse nodded at Sora.

"She's the only one small enough to squeeze down the black hole," Snoops continued.

"What 'black hole'?"

"We'll find out soon enough." Mickey shushed.

"Yes," Medusa drawled, "But why can't she find my big diamond?"

Snoops shrugged, "I don't know, but it… but just look at these beauties that she brought up from the cave." The man held up a large handful of gems, pearls, and gold, enough to make Donald drool. "Oh, they'll sell for a lot of cold cash." Medusa swung her cane and knocked them from his hands, "Ow! I wish you wouldn't do that!"

"She's insane," Bianca commented, "Utterly mad."

Lea shook his head, "Greed… all she cares about is a big diamond. She doesn't care if Penny gets hurt or killed while getting it."

Riku nodded, "That's why we need to get her out of here as soon as possible."

"I want that diamond." Growled Medusa, "I've got to have the Devil's Eye. You didn't leave the girl down in the cave long enough."

Snoops frantically tried to stay her wrath, "She won't take orders."

"You are too soft."

"But the water was rising, and the tide was coming in… and all she did down there was fuss about her teddy bear getting wet."

"Snoops," Medusa said with a dangerous calm, "You don't have a way with children. You must gain their confidence… make them like you."

"How would you ever manage that?" Lea whispered.

Snoops raised an eyebrow, "Yeah? How do you do that?"

"You force them to like you, IDIOT!" The woman swung her cane again, "At the next low tide… I'm going to put her down there, myself… and keep her there… until she finds it. And it is as simple as that."

Snoops finally understood, "Oh, it's as simple as that, is it? Hmm. Well, you're the boss, uh, boss." He and Medusa went their separate ways, leaving the room open.

"We gotta get Penny out of here tonight." Bernard led the group out underneath a small dresser.

Riku nodded, "If she gets put down that hole they mentioned, she could be killed."

Sora moved to step out from under the furniture, but Riku grabbed him by the hood. He silently pointed to where the two alligators stood at the far end of the room. As the boys watched them, the reptiles began to sniff the air, moving closer to where they hid.

Bernard gasped, grabbing the paw of his fellow mouse. "Uh-oh. Bianca, they smell your perfume."

"Oh, dear!" The smell drew the reptiles right to their hiding spot.

They stuck their snouts under the dresser, feeling about with their noses and teeth; one managed to grab Bernard by his red shirt. As it drew him out, Goofy jumped on its head and bashed it with his shield. The group ran as the two animals chased them around the room. Bernard led them into the pipes of a large organ. Lea, the last one in, slipped in just as one alligator snapped at him.

Just as they felt safe, the organ began to play. Air shot up the pipes, sending Sora, Donald, and Goofy flying into the air; now they saw the two reptiles at the instrument's keys, playing it to get them out of the pipes.

"This sucks!" Lea yelled as Sora and the others fell into pipes and he came shooting out.

Mickey shot out another pipe, "Be careful!" They all fell back into the pipes, an instant before the alligators could catch them. With a loud burst of sound, Riku and Bernard shot out of a pipe, across the room, and into the mouth of one of the gators.

"RIKU! BERNARD!"

A door to their right slammed open as Medusa stormed into the room. "Brutus! Nero! Stop that infernal racket! I mean now!" She banged the gator on the head, causing the two in his mouth to tumble out, disoriented and covered in saliva. Medusa screamed at the sight of them, clambering onto a chair, "Snoops! Snoops, mice! Oh, kill 'um! Kill 'um!"

Snoops bolted into the room, grabbed a broom, and began bashing the two with it. Sora and the others climbed out of the organ and ran with the other two. "Hurry! Run!"

The woman saw them and screamed all the more, "There's more!"

With the alligators and Snoops chasing them, the group found themselves running in circles to escape. A loud bang echoed as Medusa fired a newly acquired shotgun at them. "SHE'S GOT A GUN!" Donald squawked.

After a few moments of Medusa shooting, causing everyone in the room to run for cover, the gun jammed, "Ooh! What is wrong with this thing? Snoops, what's wrong?" During this moment, the group made a mad dash for the open door.

"I don't…" the gun went off again, taking a piece of Snoop's hair off and knocking the gang off the boat into the water.

When they came up, sputtering, Mickey used an Aero spell to launch them up to a nearby floating log. "Are you all right?"

Bianca rung out her hat, "Gosh! She tried to kill us! That… that… that terrible woman! Oh! If I was only a ten-foot mouse, I'd show her."

"If we were our normal sizes we could teach her a lesson," Sora grumbled as he pulled a slimy piece of moss from his hair.

Riku looked upward, "That poor girl, stuck there with that mad-woman. I hope the others made it to her."

* * *

Kairi, Ven, and Aqua reached the top of the boat, peering into a small room where Penny stood, putting on her nightgown. The voice of Medusa interrupted her preparation for bed. "Penny, dear!"

"Great, more walking," Ven groaned. They slipped in the window, went into a vent, and followed her to Medusa's room.

The girl went into the room, cuddling her teddy bear. "Did you wanna see me, ma'am?"

"Why, yes, my dear. Don't be so shy," Medusa soothed, "Now, I am going to let bygones be bygones. Do you know what would make Auntie Medusa very happy?"

Penny nodded, "Yes, you want me to find that diamond."

"That's right, dear."

"But I've tried as hard as I could, Honest!" Penny whimpered.

"Of course, you have," Medusa cooed as she sat at a vanity, removing her excessive makeup, "But we must try harder, mustn't we?"

Then Penny said something that made Ven jump, "Then please, will you take me back to the orphanage…like you promised?"

Medusa looked at the girl, batting her eyes in mock concern, "Penny, don't you like it here? A big beautiful boat all to yourself."

"But if I don't get back to the orphanage… I'll never get adopted."

Ven's eyes widened as a small voice played in the back of his mind. " _Please, don't take me back! I just want a family. Please adopt me…_ "(5)

Kairi and Aqua frowned, their hearts breaking for the girl. "Oh, poor thing." They turned at the sound of sniffling. "Ven?" The boy stood, staring at the girl, tears running down his cheeks.

"Adopted?" Medusa's voice echoed in the vent, "What makes you think anyone would want a homely little girl like you?"

Penny paused for a moment, a tear running down her cheek as she went back to her room, but the three Keyblade wielders stood rooted in place. "Ven, what's wrong?"

Ven's mind swam with voices of the past, voices that tore at his heart and mind…

" _I don't think he fits into our family very well…"_

 _"_ _You're the weakest most pathetic child I've ever seen! No one likes you! We don't like you! The other boys don't like you! No families like you! Not even your own parents liked you!"_

 _"_ _Who would want this wimp anyway?"_

Ven's own voice, his small childish voice from long ago, rose up, bringing Ven to his knees. " _No one wants me… no one cares about me, not even my parents… If my parents wanted me, they wouldn't have left me…_ "

"Ven!?" Aqua knelt down, throwing her arms around the boy as he knelt, shuddering under the weight of his past and his own tears. "What's wrong?"

Kairi took his hands. "You can tell us, we're here for you."

"She…" The tears came so fast and strong that he could barely speak, let alone formulate any kind of sentence. Wiping his eyes and choking back the remaining sobs, he continued his thought. "She ran away from the orphanage and got mixed up in something that could hurt her. Just like… just like me."

"What?"

Ven looked up into the face of Aqua, "Why do you think I would just leave my home and family to train and never go back? I don't have a home or a family, I never have!" His hand moved down to his heart, clutching at his shirt. "When Vanitas and I merged all my old memories came back. Even though we're separate again, I still remember. I remember everything." He paused, taking a deep breath to quell the tears that were trying to resume their flow. "I remember growing up in an orphanage. I remember my fourth birthday, when the couple who ran the orphanage refused to celebrate my birthday because they weren't my parents, and when I asked they said my parents didn't want me. They told me how they found me on the orphanage steps when I was two days old. I remember the times they and the other kids would tease me, hit me, or shut me up in the drafty attic because I was nothing but a worthless kid whom nobody wanted. I remember all the families that took me in but sent me back because they didn't want me. I remember the day I gave up on finding anyone who would want me, so I ran away, and that was the night when I met Master Xehanort…"

The two girls looked at each other and back to him before wrapping their arms around him, "I am so sorry, I'm so sorry Ven."

"You know, I do understand some…" Kairi gave him a comforting smile. "I'm an orphan too. So, I do understand the loss of family and the doubts. I may have been adopted, but I always wondered where I came from and why I was separated from my parents. I had the days when my mind would make up a story where my parents threw me into the sea to kill me. So, I do understand."

Aqua nodded. "I understand too. I'm an orphan too. Th-the government of my homeworld ordered my family killed because we couldn't pay taxes… and I told you the story before." She sighed, "Three orphans, so Ven, you're not alone. You not only have the two of us, but you have Sora, Mickey, and the others. When we find Terra, you'll have him too."(6)

Kairi nodded, "You're not worthless, Ven, and you don't have to bottle these feelings up. Trust me, it's better for you if you talk out your feelings. The two of us are here to listen, same with the others."

"Thank you," the boy wiped the remaining tears from his eyes and stood up. "I mean it…"

Aqua hugged her dear friend, blinking away her own tears, "We love you Ven."

As the two pulled apart, Kairi took the boy's hand in her own. "Now, how about we help Penny, and maybe she can get the family she's always wanted."

"Yeah!"

* * *

 **You know how I said I'd try to do this without crying… I failed miserably.**

 **And yes, I split this world in half. I'm going to try and make every single world at least two chapters long in accordance with KH3 where there are fewer worlds, but they are much longer.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), Instagram (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) I had to give a reason why he didn't worry about them in game 1.

(2) This is actually based on my grandfather who passed away earlier this year. He was just like this.

(3) This is something Nomura said about Sora. He wanted Sora to just be some normal kid who happened to be in the right place at the right time to be a hero.

(4) You would think that their world would be prone to natural disasters.

(5) All these flashbacks are lines from my other story "Their Lives Before".

(6) I'll go more into her story later. 

* * *

**Sticks and Stones**

We've all heard the saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"… that is the biggest load of crap.

Our tongue, our words are the strongest weapon we have against people, to help or to hurt. Many times we say things and don't think about how other people are affected by them.

We think that the tongue is just a small thing when it is really the most powerful thing we have.

James 3: 3-8 says, " _If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison._ "

I'd say that just about sums it up. Our small little tongue can direct us and even direct the paths of others. An unkind word can drive a person to hurt themselves or others.

Sometimes, even if we do not mean to hurt someone, our worlds can come across as cruel and harmful.

So, watch your tongue, and do not let it guide you or someone else into darkness.


	16. Chapter 16: Devil's Bayou- Diamond

**Well, I'm entering the second half of my first semester of junior year, time to put my nose to the grindstone, but I will still be writing.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Rescuers © Disney!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Devil's Bayou- Diamond**

* * *

Aqua, Kairi, and Ven walked slowly back to Penny's room. The girl did not notice them, or Sora and the others, who were now climbing through the window.

Penny put a little nightcap on her teddy bear, blinking back tears. "Goodnight, Teddy, sleep tight." She laid down, covering the toy with the blanket. After a moment or two, she sat up. "Oh! We almost forgot to say our prayers." Moving to the side of the bed, she knelt, folding her teddy's hands together before she clasped her own hands and closed her eyes. "Please bless Rufus, and Teddy, and all the kids at the orphanage: Jennifer, Bobby, Mary, Julie. And please let someone find my bottle; there's a message in it because running away isn't working. Amen." She grabbed her bear, holding him tight as new tears began to spring up. "Don't worry, Teddy, W-we'll be… all right!"

As the entire group climbed onto the bed, the girl flopped down on the bed, sobbing. Ven had to hold back his own tears as Bianca scampered to Penny. "Penny? Penny?"

"Yes?" The child's eyes lifted up, beholding the group of small people and mice.

"Penny, don't cry we're here to help you."

Penny sat up a little more, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Hi, where'd you come from?"

"We found the bottle, with your message." Bernard smiled.

"We're here to rescue you."

The girl hugged her teddy bear. "Did you hear that, Teddy? Our bottle worked!" Then her face fell slightly as she looked at the small group. "Didn't you bring somebody big with you, like the police?"

"Sorry kid," Lea smirked, "It's just us. But you'd be surprised what we can do. Just have a little faith!"

Penny smiled happily, "That's what Rufus said, 'Faith makes things turn out right'."

"That's right; all of us working together we can get you outta here."

Bernard climbed back up her pillow, "Penny, I know it's late, but we have to escape tonight, right now."

"But I just got caught by Brutus and Nero."

Kairi clambered over to the window, looking down, "Yeah, and they're still down there guarding the gangplank."

"Oh, those vicious monsters! They ought to be locked up in a cage."

The little girl bounced giddily "I know! I know! Come on, I'll show you." They went outside her room and she pointed, "See there? The elevator." An old elevator, that did resemble more of a cage, stood at the end of the hall.

"It's perfect! All we have to do is get them in there."

Riku huffed. "All we have to do is use Bianca's perfume to lure them in."

"And I'll slam the door!" Penny giggled. "And will that make Medusa mad." She grabbed a broom and began mocking the red-haired woman, "Brutus! Nero! Did you let that little brat escape again? You're too soft. Wap! Wap!" With each 'wap' she pretended to bring the broom down on the alligator's heads.

Everyone laughed. "That's not too bad."

Penny continued to mock the woman as Bianca added with a smile, "That's exactly like Medusa."

The girl gave one last jest, "Track her down, boys. Bring her back."

"And by that time, we'll be long gone," Ven exclaimed.

"Wait," Riku spoke up, "What about her swamp mobile?"

"We'll swipe it! I've always wanted to drive it." The child began to make engine noises and pretend like she was actually driving it.

"But that thing's so noisy it could wake the dead," Aqua muttered, "We'll need to stall them somehow."

"How about Mr. Snoop's fireworks? We'll shoot 'em off in her bedroom. That'll keep her busy."

Riku laughed, "You are one devious little girl… perfume, crocs, swamp mobiles, fireworks. It could work!"

"It's our only chance." Mickey nodded, "But we're gonna need help."

The group was about to return to Penny's room when Medusa's voice echoed through the houseboat halls, "Snoops! Snoops! Get down here!"

"Uh, what's up, Medusa?" the man tumbled down the stairs, "What's going on?"

Penny and the others moved closer to listen to Medusa's rant. "Oh, shut up! High tide or not…"

"I bet those two are up to something," Penny shuddered, "Gee, I don't wanna go down that awful black hole again."

Ven reached over, laying his small hand on Penny's, "We'll try to get you outta here before then, but if not, we'll go into the hole with you. We're here to protect you."

Penny scooped the boy into her small hands, "Thank you, Oh, you never told me your names!"

"I'm Sora; this is Donald, Goofy, Lea, Riku, and Kairi."

"My name is Miss. Bianca and this is Bernard."

She looked down at the blonde boy in her hands. "I'm Ventus but you can call me Ven."

Bernard went over to the edge of the boat and shouted down to the dragonfly that had brought them here, "Evinrude? Up here." The insect flew up. "We need help. Go get Ellie Mae. And Hurry!" The insect took off and the group went back to Penny's room.

The little girl changed into her other clothes, and they waited for some sort of escape. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep. Riku and Ven sat up, standing guard as the girl and the others slept. "You ok, Ven?"

"She reminds me of myself." The blond boy admitted.

Riku raised an eyebrow but could see that the boy didn't really want to talk about it. "She reminds me of my little sister, but I'm sure you know that story since you were in Sora's heart when it happened."(1)

"Yeah… sorry, Riku."

"Don't be," the older boy leaned back. "Get some rest. I'll stand guard for now."

Ven nodded and laid down. The dreams that filled his mind were ones that he hadn't dreamed in many years. Dreams of what he wanted his parents to be like and the adventures they would have. His mind painted pictures of a man with hair like Ventus' own, wrapping him in a loving hug as a woman with golden hair kissed the boy's forehead. Tears of sorrow and want ran down the boy's cheeks as he slept, but no one else saw them.

* * *

 _"You know, it's not a crime to be sad about something." His mind swam as old memories surfaced. He remembered Naminé talking with him as he sat in Sora's heart._

 _"I know that Nami, but I just don't like thinking about those old memories. Knowing that my parents didn't want me and just abandoned me… it pains my heart beyond belief. I just want to be loved by my parents."_

 _The girl looked up from her spot across the white dreamscape she created for them to talk in. "You know, I want the same thing. I'm just a Nobody, I don't have a heart or feelings. I don't know what it is like to love. I know what it is like to want, and I want to be shown love too. If I cannot give love, I want someone to love me." She sketched some more in her notebook. "I feel so much love in Sora's heart, and I did try to take some of it for myself, but it wasn't real love. It was just forced feelings."_

 _"You know, love doesn't have to be romantic." Ven smiled. "Romantic love is the most special kind, but love exists between friends and just people in general."_

 _Naminé looked up at him again, smiling. "Are we friends?"_

 _"Yes, we are."_

 _"Then, is there some sort of love between us?"_

 _Ven walked across the dreamscape, taking her hand. "Of course there is, Nami." For a moment, the boy looked into her eyes and saw tears of joy. Naminé was not a Nobody, she had a heart, and she felt emotions._ (2)

 _Right now, she felt love._

* * *

Early the next morning, Sora stood at Penny's door, when he saw Medusa come stomping towards them. "She's coming!"

Some of the group jumped into Penny's pockets while the others hid, ready to follow behind on Aqua and Ven's gliders. Medusa came inside, grinning at the girl. "Time to go, Penny, dear."

They brought the girl to a small island with an old gnarled tree. Over one branch hung a rope holding a bucket. Sora peeked out from Penny's pocket and saw a deep black hole below it, and Penny was just the right size to fit in the hole. He turned, seeing Ven and the others watching from on their gliders, a short distance away.

"All right you little brat," ordered Snoops, "Now, you are gonna go down in that hole and you are gonna dig till you find me the diamond. You understand that? And no sassing me."

Medusa pushed him aside, speaking in a fake kind voice, "Ah-ah-ah… Snoops. That is no way to speak to our little Miss Penny." The woman pulled the girl into a hug, much to Penny's distaste.

"Ok, boss. Ok." Snoops moved the bucket over the hole.

"Now, my dear," Medusa took Penny's face in her hands, "You're going to find the big shiny diamond for your Auntie Medusa, aren't you?"

Penny looked down the hole and backed away, "Teddy doesn't like it down there. He's afraid. Aren't you Teddy?"

"Aw. Tsk-tsk-tsk. Poor Teddy." The woman swiped the toy from the girl. "I'll just keep him up here with me, where he'll be safe."

"Give me back my teddy bear!" Medusa pushed Penny back with her foot. "He's mine! He's mine!" Stumbling back, the girl caught herself just before she fell into the hole.

All kindness fell from the woman's face, "You get down there and find the big diamond or you will never see the teddy again!"

"All right. All right." Penny stepped into the bucket, and it began to lower, "I'll go."

"Boss, you've really got a way with kids."

"Don't worry, Teddy. I won't be gone long. I'll find her old diamond." The group climbed out of her pockets as the bucket as they went lower into the darkness. Ven and Aqua quickly flew down into the hole after them, unnoticed by the two adults.

Penny took the lantern they'd given her and stepped out of the bucket. "Oh! What a dreadful, frightening place," Bianca stuttered.

"Yeah, it used to be a pirate's cave."

Sora gave her a look of disbelief, "And how do you know that?"

"Him," the girl pointed to a skeleton in the corner; a sword stuck out of its chest and old rags clung to its bones.

"Ok then."

Around the cave lay piles of smaller gems: rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and others, but Medusa wanted none of these. As they searched around, a deep rumble echoed throughout the cave. "What the heck is that?"

"That's where the water comes in." Further back in the cave lay a huge gaping hole. "Ooh! I'm afraid to go over there."

Sora thought for a moment, "I've been around pirates and I think that might be where they hid that diamond, the Devil's Eye wasn't it?"

He and Bernard went over and looked down to see water bubbling like a cauldron deep in the hole; Bernard backed up, "Uh, come to think of it if I was a pirate, I wouldn't hide anything back there."

"Sora look," Donald pointed across the hole, "I see something."

Bianca ran over to them, "Let's see what it is."

"Hang on Bianca. We'll take you over there." Aqua took Bianca, Bernard, and Riku across the gap on her glider, leaving Penny behind with the lantern. The hole rumbled, and a stream of water shot upwards, making everyone jump back from the hole.

"What are you doing down there?" Medusa called down.

"I'm looking!"

"Well look faster!"

On the other side of the hole there lay an old sword and a skull, but it was too dark to see anything else. Penny raised the lantern and a bright light came from the skull.

"Wow!" Multicolored lights reflected everywhere until Penny lowered the light. Bernard yelled, "Penny, hold your lantern up again." She did, and inside the skull was the biggest diamond any of them had ever seen.

"That's it!"

"The Devil's Eye! Penny, we found it! We found it!"

The girl ran back to the opening, "Medusa, I found it!"

Everyone but the little girl got to the skull and tried to move the diamond out through the skull's eye sockets, but the gem was too big. But again the rumbling came as an even bigger stream of water shot out of the hole in the ground.

Kairi sighed, "We can't get it out!"

"What's taking so long?" Medusa asked.

"It's stuck tight!"

"Stuck tight? You get that diamond or you'll never see daylight again!" The woman screeched.

Ven heard this and muttered, "What happened to the teddy bear scheme, you witch?!"

"Ven! Calm down!" Sora laid a hand on his friend's shoulder before noticing the little girl try to climb around the large hole. "No, no! Back! Back, Penny!"

"Penny no! You'll fall!" Riku smashed the front of the skull as the water began to flow in, allowing Penny to cross over to where they were.(3)

She ran for the diamond, but a large wave knocked the girl over; she grabbed at a rock, looking up towards where Medusa waited. "The water's coming in! Please, pull me up!"

"Not until you get the diamond."

Penny jumped up, grabbing the diamond out of the shattered skull as another wave hit, this one putting out the lantern. The girl made it across the hole with most of the others, but Ven, Bianca, and Bernard were being sucked in by the hole.

"PENNY! PENNY HELP!" Leaving the others in the bucket the girl went after them. The whirlpool took her under, but another wave shot them back out.

She put the mice and Ven in the bucket along with the Devil's Eye. "I've got it! I've got it! Hurry! Pull me up!"

Snoops hoisted them up as fast as he could. The girl held the diamond above her head and the woman ripped it from her hands, "At last! The Devil's Eye!"

"It's worth millions!"

"Mmmm, just look at it filled with power for its owner."

"Let me… let me look at it." Medusa held it up and the flashed Snoops a quick glance at it. "I get… hey, that wasn't a very good look." He dropped the bucket's rope, causing Penny to fall. The bucket and rope fell back into the cave, and the girl barely caught herself; luckily the others had gotten back in Penny's pockets. The adults didn't care about her now. "But I know there's enough there to cut it into two equal shares."

"YOU IDIOT! Cut up a perfect gem? And it's mine! It's all mine!" Medusa laughed heartily.

"All yours?" Snoops huffed, "Well, half of it is mine, you double-crossing crook!"

While they were arguing, the alligators came grabbing Penny again. "Put me down, Brutus!" They carried her back to the boat. The mice and Keybladers tumbling out of her pockets when they reached the boat.

As they shook the vapors from their head, a group of voices all yelled "CHARGE!" Up the gangplank came Ellie Mae, Luke, an owl in an undertaker's outfit, a rabbit in overalls with a straw hat, a tortoise in a blue hat with a cane, and a mole in overalls with a miner's helmet.

Bianca, Bernard, Riku, and Ven snuck over to the room where the three were; they could hear Snoops still fuming about the diamond, "Welsher! Swindler! Chiseler!"

"Shut up, Snoops, and don't move." Medusa stood there with her former partner and Penny at gunpoint. "If either of you try to follow me you'll get blasted!"

Penny approached her, but Medusa held her back by a foot, "You give me my teddy bear. You promised."

"Teddy goes with me, my dear. I've become quite attached to him." Riku and Ven helped the two mice run a small rope across the doorway as a tripwire; Medusa back up stumbling over the rope. The gun went off and the teddy bear flew out of her hands.

Ven's eyes followed the bear and he saw something bright in its back. "Riku she put the diamond in the bear!"

"My diamond! My diamond!" Snoops ran out the door towards the bear. The greedy woman grabbed his leg and tripped him, but Penny managed to run over and grab the bear. The man and woman chased her, tripping each other along the way. When Medusa tripped again the swamp animals, Donald and Goofy began attacking her. But she managed to grab her shotgun and chased them off.

The alligators, Brutus and Nero began to chase the attackers, until they ran inside. Inside the elevator, Bianca began spraying her perfume around, while she Bernard and Riku sat on a large fishhook. Riku whistled, catching the alligator's attention. The three on the hook waved tauntingly, and the reptiles came running.

The swamp-dwelling rabbit holding the fishing rod, ready to pull them up. "Now!" The rabbit didn't pull up as the alligators came closer. "Now! Now!" Right before Nero's jaws snapped on them, the rabbit pulled them up, and the elevator doors slammed shut, trapping the overgrown lizards.

Kairi, Ven, and Sora sat with Penny, trying to start the swamp mobile. "Look out!" Medusa shot at them and hit the glass window not two inches from the little girl's head. Mickey jumped on Medusa from above, slamming his blade into her head.

She pointed her gun at him, but the owl shoved a lit firecracker into the barrel and the gun barrel exploded in her face.

Sora and Bernard were down in the engine of the swamp mobile trying to start it. "Advance the spark!" The horn honked in Bernard's face, "Not the horn! The spark lever. Sora hold this." He handed the boy a wire as Sora also held onto a metal prong in the engine. "It's that doohickey on the steering wheel."

Ven pulled it and an electrical current shot through the engine and through Sora, making his hair spike up even more than usual.(4)

At the same time, the rest of the swamp folks and Keybladers were lighting the fireworks cache in the ship's boiler room. The fireworks shot in all directions, making Medusa and Snoops run for cover. In the confusion, they ran down to the swamp mobile. "We're not getting any gas!"

"Fill 'er up, Luke." Ellie Mae's husband began dumping a little of his whiskey into the tank, "Hurry! All of it!" The vehicle started, and they drove off.

"Look out!" Kairi pointed as Medusa grabbed the mooring line connected to the vehicle, allowing herself to be dragged behind it. She frantically pulled herself in and reached for the teddy bear; Kairi summoned her Keyblade slapping her hand away.

Medusa fell back but caught the line again and this time Brutus and Nero ended up under her feet. "I won't let you take my diamond!" Darkness surrounded her and the alligators; it cleared to reveal a large Heartless that had once been Medusa.

The Gem Reaper Heartless had dark green scaly feet with yellow eyes and alligator mouths; its body was red and scaly like a snake's it had pale pink arms with black batwings under them, it's face was obscured by a red hood, but it's yellow gem-like eyes shone.

"Wh…what's happened to her?"

Riku summoned his Keyblade, "Darkness has taken her heart." The Heartless inched closer and closer as they drove. "We've got to get her off!" Ven and Aqua summoned their gliders and flew towards her while the others fired spells at the Heartless

Ven flew by, slashing the creature's arms. "Guys, attack its arms!"

Spell after spell, attack after attack, the Heartless still held onto the rope. It was now inches from the teddy bear when Ven struck it once more, slashing its left arm in two; it let go of the rope, screeching.

However, before it vanished beneath the water, Ven flew up high and dove straight down towards the Gem Reaper's head, "THIS IS FOR PENNY!" As his glider ripped through its face it began to disappear, releasing a heart into the sky.

Penny stopped the swamp mobile and waited for them to get back on. "We did it, Bianca!" Bernard shouted.

"Hooray!" Everyone cheered, even Penny. She picked up Ventus in her hands, "Thank you, everybody! And thanks, Ven."

The boy looked up at her and could tell that she knew; she knew that he was a lot like her. "Thank you, Penny." She hugged him as best she could.

Suddenly Teddy lit up and floated into the air. Sora bowed to Mickey, "Your Majesty, would you do the honors?"

"Of course!" Mickey sealed the Keyhole.

Penny looked sad, "Does that mean you have to go?"

"Sorry, but it does."

"Ok… thank you so much for saving me!"

Ven smiled, "You're welcome Penny!"

"Goodbye."

* * *

Ven sighed, looking down at the drawing he'd done of his parents before this all happened."Ven?" Jiminy sat on the edge of the boy's knee, looking down at the drawing. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah... Penny was right. I'll find my family someday. Actually," he glanced toward the door, where he could hear Donald and Sora bickering, as they sometimes did, "I think I have a family already." Slowly, he smoothed out the wrinkled edges of the paper before pinning it up on his wall. "And it's ok to be sad… I have people who love me, and that's enough for me."

He walked up to the front of the ship, the cricket on his shoulder, just as Lea turned on the comm system and Ansem the Wise's face appeared onscreen. The old man smiled. "Hello. I trust your journey is going well."

"Yeah, just helped a sweet little kid out." Lea leaned back in the chair. "What can we do for you, sir?"

"I need you to come back here. I must speak with Sora."

Everyone looked at the brown-haired boy. "Uh, alright. We'll be there soon."

"Thank you."

The comlink shut off and Donald sighed. "We barely got to look around the worlds and now they call us back."

"Eh, we'll have more time to run around the worlds later."

Mickey nodded. "Ansem seemed serious, so it must be very important."

"Yeah…"

"Well, let's get back to Radiant Garden." Sora grabbed the controls and turned the ship towards Radiant Garden.

* * *

 **Welp, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Please Review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), Instagram (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) More will be revealed on this later.

(2) Nami obviously had a heart by the end of Re: CoM, due to the fact that she cried.

(3) It's more realistic for him to just smash it open then to just keep trying to pull it out.

(4) This probably should've killed him, but it's a comedic moment. 

* * *

**You're Doing It Wrong!**

Sometimes we Christians tend to act like we're better than other people, not all of us, but there are a good many who do.

We say that certain people can't come into our church because they're sinners, or we avoid people because they are not believers. If this is what you're doing, you're doing it all wrong.

As Christians, we are meant to love other people and bring them to Christ through love. Turning people away from the church is like turning sick people away from a doctor. The church is a place for everyone, and it should be a place where no perfect people are allowed.

People who are not believers should not be shunned but loved. Who did Jesus himself spend time with?

He spent time with fishermen, like Peter, who were crude men; we don't have the saying "curse like a sailor" for nothing. He spent time with tax collectors, the people other Jews considered traitors and sinners. He showed compassion for prostitutes and women who were shunned by society. He broke the norms and "rules" of religion to show people the love that they needed so badly!

Jesus loved everyone. Did he approve of their lifestyles, no, but he knew that he could not change them from sitting far away and saying how bad they were. He would go up and love them, show them that he cared.

We as Christians should do the same today. If you see someone who is not a Christian, you go show them love. Be their friend, spend time with them, get to know them, and help them when you can. There are so many ways to show love because love speaks so much more than hatred does.


	17. Chapter 17: Knowledge and Understanding

**Here's the next chapter!**

 **Thank you to everyone who recently followed and/or favorited this story:** **VanityXIII** **and** **TheDisneyFan365** **!**

 **TO THE GUEST REVIEWER: Trust me, I never forgot about that information; it's too important for me. I was actually going to address that in this very chapter.**

 **…** **now ON WITH THE STORY!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Lara Croft © to Square Enix!**

 **Sasuke (c) to YamiChaos!**

 **OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Knowledge and Understanding**

* * *

Sora shut down the gummi ship as they landed in the gummi hanger of Radiant Garden. "We're here!"

"Let's see what Ansem wants."

As they filed off the ship, they found the old ruler waiting for them. He smiled. "Hello. I am sorry to call you all back so soon, but I need some assistance."

"Well, we're ready to help!"

"I am sorry, Ventus." Ansem replied, "But I need Mickey and Sora's help specifically. I am sorry if this causes you some trouble."

They all shook their heads. "We're fine. We'll find something to do."

"Well," Lea stretched, "I'm going to see my mother and girlfriend then." He strode off towards town, with the others trickling after him, off to find some adventure of their own.

Sora and Mickey followed Ansem back into the ruler's study. "Ansem, what's this all about?"

"First, I must apologize, Sora, for my actions."

"Huh?"

"I used you like I used so many others." Ansem sighed, looking down at the papers on his desk. "I have made many mistakes in my life, which I regret greatly, and I wish to correct them. So, in order to correct some of those mistakes, while you slept beneath the mansion in Twilight Town, years ago, I planted data inside you, data that would help me make amends."

The boy placed a hand on his chest. "You put data inside me?"

"Ansem," Mickey piped up. "We actually retrieved that data. Riku was able to bring the data from Sora's heart. My engineers are currently looking into it as we speak.(1)"

Ansem smiled. "Wonderful! If you wouldn't mind, I would like it back though. I know how to decode and sift through it."

"I'll head home and get the data for you." The mouse king gave a quick nod and darted from the room, heading straight for the gummi ship.

"Uh, Ansem, what's this data for exactly?" Sora sat down in a chair. "I think I have the right to know since you put it inside of me."

"Of course."

Ansem shifted through some of his other papers. Once the door closed, leaving the two alone in the office, Sora asked again. "So, what is going on?"

"I want to return those who had no chance at life." He looked up at Sora, and the boy could see tears in his eyes. "I am going to bring back Roxas and Naminé. I did so much to harm them and my actions led to their ends. I don't want to bring harm to your or Kairi, but I must fix what I have done wrong."

"Ansem, they had hearts."

"Oh?"

Sora sighed. "Xemnas, he told me that a heart is never lost for good. A heart can be reborn in a Nobody; someone's heart can vanish from their body, but the body will replace it the first chance it gets. So, turning into a Nobody was just a temporary separation from the heart. And I know, Roxas had a heart. He laughed, got mad, and he grieved. You have to have a heart to cry. All that Xemnas told them about not having a heart was a lie to make those in the Organization ready to become vessels of Xehanort. Not all Nobodies were able to regrow their hearts, but Roxas did, and I'm sure Naminé did too.(2)"

Ansem did not seem surprised. "I should've known you would be aware of that. I too discovered it, and that's when I knew that I had to do something. I thought about those children, just beginning lives of their own, and I helped end their short lives."

"But how can you bring them back?"

"I am not sure yet… but my research will help me figure it out. However, I am unsure if it will be painful or not for you and Kairi."

Sora grinned, "I don't mind if someone else's life can be saved. I want Roxas to have a full life too."

"I see," Ansem stood up. "Well, when Mickey returns with the information, I will look into it as quickly as I can and come up with a way to return them. Retrieving their hearts will be a simple task, but returning their bodies is a more difficult challenge."

"I'm sure you'll figure out some way to do it."

"Thank you, Sora. I'll do my best."

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Lea?" Sera giggled, taking her boyfriend's hand.

"Of course!" He laughed, taking her other hand. "I don't mind teaching you to dance."

"But I can't see your feet, and with music playing and shoes on, I'll have a harder time knowing where they are."

Lea put his arm around her waist. "I can take hits from Heartless and warriors, so I'm sure that you stepping on my feet will be no problem. Anyways, if my girlfriend wants to learn to dance for a party, then who am I to say no?"

He spun her around and Sera cringed every time she stepped on Lea's feet, but the young man only laughed. As they danced, two people stood to the side, watching.

"Alright, Lea, I'm tired." The blind girl huffed after spinning around for a while. "Let's rest for a minute."

"Alright." The young man led her to a bench where they both sat down, the girl leaning against him.

They sat there in silence for a while before they heard footsteps approaching. Lea looked up, smiling. "Hi, Mom."

"Hello, Lea." Cissnei sat beside the couple. "Good to see you again, Sera."

"Same to you, Mrs. Fahrenheit."

The older woman turned her gaze away from them. "Lea, there's… there's someone who wants to see you."

"Who?"

"Now, I would like you to stay calm." His mother motioned for someone to approach.

Out from behind a building stepped a man in a loose suit with scraggly graying- red hair and a long ponytail; swooping red marks decorated his face under his green eyes. "Hello, Lea."

"Dad!?" Lea stood up; Sera held onto his hand and she could feel him shaking. "What are you doing here?"

"I came home to help rebuild the world and to see you again."

"Yeah, well you can get lost!" The pyro growled. "I could care less about you being here."

Cissnei took her son's other hand. "Dear, please, he wants to make amends."

"I don't care! What kind of father leaves their wife and son for twenty years with not so much as a letter!?"

"Lea," His girlfriend spoke softly. "Please, why not give him a chance?"

The pyro pulled away from her and stormed away. "Lea! Wait!"

Sera heard Cissnei go after Lea. The young woman turned to Lea's father, using her aura powers to read the man. "Sir, um, Mr. Fahrenheit. I'm sorry about him."

"Just call me Reno(3)," he answered. "You're Lea's girlfriend, right?" The girl nodded. "Well, I wish we'd met on a better occasion. I should've expected this though. I wish I could explain…"

"What happened? Why were you gone so long?"

The man sat beside her. "I was on a secret mission, I couldn't even tell people that was on it, and I got captured. Since this mission was so secretive, Cissnei and Lea couldn't know what happened to me. I know my disappearance hurt him, but there was nothing I could do. I just wish he could understand."

"I'll talk to him." Sera stood up. "He'll listen to me."

"Thank you…"

The blind girl laid her hand on a nearby wall and went after her boyfriend.

* * *

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Sorry, we're closed!"

"Even to your favorite customer?"

The café door opened and Hara grinned as she saw Riku. "Riku! Come inside!"

"Thank you," he stepped into the café. Hara left the door open as she came over beside him. "You're just in time. I was about to look for someone to try a new recipe of mine."

"I'd be happy to!" He sat down as the girl ran to the back and soon returned with two plates of pie. "I'd tell you what it is, but it's a family secret. I just put it on the menu as 'Secret Webb Pie'!"

Riku took the pie from her as she sat across from him. "That's alright." He took a bite and his eyes widened. "Wow! This is amazing! Hmm, I can taste some fruit in there... and something else…"

"You got the fruit part right, but the other thing is part of the secret." The girl laughed.

"Again, it's amazing." He took another bite. "By the way, where'd you learn to cook?"(4)

The girl paused before taking a bite of pie. "My dad…"

"Did something happen?"

The girl kept her eyes fixed on her pie. "Well, my mom died when I was little, so Dad raised me alone. When the world fell, we ended up on another world. He was a great cook and when he wasn't working to pay rent on the other world, he was teaching me to cook. He caught a disease on that world and passed away. I worked in a restaurant and slept in the owner's attic until the Shinra agents brought us all back here."

"Sorry…"

"It's ok." The girl smiled. "He always wanted me to have a café of my own, and I know he'd be proud of me."

Riku sighed. "I bet he is, but I do understand your pain."

"Huh?"

"Well, I… When I was eight years old my little sister died."

Hara looked into his eyes. "Really? I'm sorry."

"It's been a long time, but I do understand how it feels to lose a loved one."

"What was she like?" the girl asked.

Riku paused, his hand reaching into his pocket as he pulled out a small hairclip; it was shaped like a heart with two angel wings coming from behind. "She was five when she died. She was… attacked by her favorite animal. It was a shark, a giant fish with big, sharp teeth and a taste for blood. She and some other girls were in a boat when their boat flipped over, and she fell into the water. I was in my own boat nearby, and she tried to swim to me, but a shark came up from below and… and bit her legs off."

"Oh my gosh…"

"I tried getting her to shore in time, but she bled out just as I reached the shore." He looked at the hairclip. "I made this for her on her birthday, and it's all I have left of her."

"What was her name?"

"Kikyo."

Hara shuffled her pie around on the plate with a fork. "My dad would always say that all we can do for those we love and lost is try to honor their memory by doing what they would want us to do."

"I know, and I failed on that a long time ago, but I've done my best to make up for it."

They sat in silence before the girl stood up. "Well, I think that's enough thinking on the painful past. How about I get us two to-go cups of coffee, and we go outside and enjoy the fresh air?"

"Sounds wonderful."

* * *

Ansem looked up as Mickey came back into the room carrying a small disk. "Ansem, I have the data."

"Thank you, Mickey."

Even looked up from his paperwork. "Lord Ansem, we might have an issue."

"What is it?" The ruler cocked his head.

The other scientist sighed. "It seems as if there has been a breach in our digital security. Tron has reported that someone managed to copy some secret files."

"What files?"

"The video…"

Mickey saw a change come over the two scientists, but he could tell that it was something they did not want to talk about. "Well, I'll leave you to your research." Slowly he backed out of the room, leaving the two alone.

* * *

Sora sat on a ledge, looking down at the sea-salt ice cream in his hand. "Roxas…"

He felt his heart sting a little as if Roxas was trying to respond back. After what Ansem had said, Sora couldn't help but sit and think about all he knew. Roxas had a heart, but not a body for it to go back to.

"How do we get you back?" The boy bit into the partially-melted ice cream, sighing. "Roxas, I know you went through a lot, but I want you to have a second chance at life."

"I'm sure he'd like that." Ven came over and sat beside Sora.

"I thought you were hanging out with Aqua…"

"She and Kairi went to have some 'girl time'." The blond boy smiled. "Hey, I actually met Roxas when I was in your heart."

"You did?"

Ven nodded. "Yep, and while we may look similar, we are certainly very different. We've both endured pain, but he deals with it a little differently than I do. I've had friends who would share my pain and comfort me when I needed it most. But Roxas… he's never had that. He either thought his emotions were fake or lost trust in friends right when he needed them the most. He's angry and hurt, but it's not surprising."

"I can feel his anger sometimes." The other boy watched the ice cream drip from the stick. "Sometimes, when I'm resting, I feel emotions stirring within me that are not my own. I don't talk about it much, but Jiminy knows about it. I feel anger and grief a lot. Though, I sometimes feel joy coming from him too."

"So, your heart really is a prison!"

The two boys jumped to their feet, whirling around to see Vanitas standing behind them, Keyblade at the ready. Sora glared at him, but as he looked into the eyes of his dark double, he saw some semblance of pain. "Why are you here, Vanitas?"

"I was told that you were a strong fighter… I'm here to test that!"

Both boys summoned their Keyblades. "Come on then!"

* * *

Lea groaned to himself as he sat on the Bailey ledge, staring out at the Great Maw. "Why did he have to show up?"

"You know, you should give him a chance." Sera came over, taking his arm. "Just listen to him."

"Why should I? What kind of father leaves his wife and kid for twenty years!?"

The blind girl laid a hand on his cheek, turning his face toward hers. "Lea, I know you trust me. I used my powers to read his aura, and he is sincere and wants to explain himself."

"Sera…" He looked into her blind eyes before leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "Fine, I'll talk to him, for you… What would I do without you?"

"Don't know…" She giggled.

"How sweet…" Lea pulled his girlfriend to him as Isa stepped out of a dark corridor. "But I'm afraid it ends now."

Lea stood up. "Why is all this happening today…? Please, Isa, don't do this. I know that you're in there. Look, we care about you and we want you back. You can beat your darkness; you can fight it, if not for your own sake, then for your family's. Your mom is here, and she is so worried about you. Please, stop this, for her!"

Isa seemed to listen for a moment, but his eyes flashed gold before the man summoned his claymore. "Isa is dead. His mother means nothing to me, just as your father means nothing to you."

The moment he finished speaking, a stream of fire knocked him on the ground. "That's not true!" Sera's arm stretched out, fire wrapping around it. "Reno cares for him and somewhere in there, he cares for his father."

"Insolent fire-witch!"

* * *

Vanitas leapt back as Sora and Ven charged, slashing at the boy, who merely laughed at them. "You're both weak! I don't understand why the master hasn't killed you both yet."

"Shut up!" Sora clashed with him, the two struggling to overpower the other. "What do you stand to gain from this!?"

"My freedom!" Vanitas yelled, eyes filling with emotion.

Ven paused. "Freedom?"

Vanitas pushed Sora back, glaring. "Freedom from my chains, my ties to you, and freedom from my pain! But the only thing that has to do with you is your death!" He ran at them, darkness surging from his body. The darkness kept them from getting too close to their opponent as the two boys tried to fight him.

Sora pushed through, burying the end of his Keyblade into the boy's gut. Vanitas groaned, spitting blood as his organs took the brunt of the attack. "Why you!?" He opened a corridor and tumbled into it.

"What was that about?" Sora scratched his head. "Ven, what's up with him?"

"Don't know… while I did merge with him, he kept to himself. He never wanted to say anything about his issues, but I know that there was a lot of pain in his life." Ven crossed his arms. A small little noise, a scraping, swishing noise moved around their feet. He looked down to see a small blue creature with beady red eyes stood by Ven.

"What the heck is that!?"

"An Unversed!" The blond boy swung his Keyblade at the small Flood. The creature skittered away, hiding under Sora's feet. "Destroy it!"

Sora looked down, and the Unversed looked up. "Why? It seems friendly."

"It's a creature derived from Vanitas' negative emotions. It's nothing but darkness."

"I don't think so." Sora knelt down and the little Flood got up on its hind legs, placing its front paws on Sora's leg. "It seems like it wants help." He reached out, petting the creature's head; the Flood let him before it vanished in a swirl of darkness.(5)

"What was that? Why didn't it attack?"

The brown-haired boy shrugged. "No idea…"

* * *

Lea and Sera dove behind cover as Isa swung his weapon at them. The blind girl trapped the possessed man in a tornado of fire as Lea ran in with his Keyblade, slashing at their opponent.

"Lea! Isa is in there!" The girl used her powers, eyes glowing as she read his aura. "I can sense it! He's fighting!"

"I knew it!" Lea ducked under Isa's attack, managing to hit his old friend in the back. "Isa, fight!"

As the couple pulled back their attacks, the blue-haired man grasped his head, the internal struggle showing. Another dark corridor opened, and a gloved hand dragged Isa inside before Lea could do anything.

"No…"

Sera laid her hands on his arm. "I am sorry darling. Isa, your father… today's just been a difficult day for you."

"Lea?"

The pyro looked up and saw Reno standing by the Bailey gate. Every part of him wanted to scream and unleash all of the anger within him onto the man before him. But, he held back. "Dad…"

* * *

"So, you guys fought Vanitas, and you fought Isa?"

"Yep."

Aqua sighed. "I wish we had known, we could've helped."

"Well, we dealt with them." Sora grinned. "What were you girls doing anyways?"

"Shopping." Kairi giggled. "What else? By the way, Sora, I got something for you!"

The boy cocked his head. "Uh, what is it?"

Kairi dropped a few boxes on his lap. "Sora, you parents are wonderful, but your dad's old clothes are not going to hold up against battle. So, here's something else for you to wear."

"Wow! Thanks, Kairi!" He picked up the boxes and left, returning a few minutes later dressed in a new outfit of red and black with a blue belt and some yellow accents(6). "This is nice! Thanks again, Kairi!"

"No problem!"

Aqua smiled. "Well, is there anything else you need from us, Ansem?"

"No, Aqua," the ruler held up the disc from Mickey and some files. "This is all I need. Again, sorry if I pulled you away for something this simple."

"We don't mind at all."

Riku nodded. "It's really no trouble, but since it is so late, we might as well spend the night."

"Of course. I figured as much, so I had the castle staff prepare rooms for you all."

"Thank you, Ansem!"

* * *

In the dark of the night, after everyone else lay asleep in their beds, Kairi rose up, silently creeping through the castle halls. She slipped out a side door, not wanting to be noticed by Sasuke and Dilan who stood at the front gates.

After moving through the brush, she came to a small shed on the castle grounds; Lara Croft stood beside it. "There you are."

"Sorry, I had to make sure everyone was asleep." The princess yawned. "So, did you find anything?"

"I wouldn't have contacted you unless I'd found something. It was hard to find due to the fact that some of the files were in Lord Ansem's personal computer, and Tron makes hacking that place difficult." The archeologist handed Kairi a small disk. "This has everything you'll need. When you open the files, a small code will keep Tron from being able to access what you are looking at."

"Thank you, Lara."

"No problem, Kairi." The woman pulled up the hood on her jacket before leaping over the garden wall, disappearing into the night.

Kairi slowly crept back inside; during the day, she'd looked around and found some small computers used for research and other such activities. Going into a small room that housed one of these computers, she quietly shut the door behind her, sliding into the chair before inserting the disk…

Immediately, files began popping up; the disc held four folders: books, newspapers, letters, videos. Kairi clicked on the first one labeled 'books'.

Pictures, photocopies of school textbooks popped up. At first, Kairi couldn't understand why these would have anything to do with her when suddenly she spotted her name in the text: " _The princess currently has one child, a girl named Kairi Sakura Mae_ ".

"Princess?" Kairi read on, but much of the text was blurry or the pictures were of books destroyed by something, most likely Heartless, or fire. "I'm the daughter of this world's princess?"

She opened the second file, and dozens of newspaper clippings appeared onscreen. Many of them had similar titles, all talking about the birth of a baby. Kairi read through the first one, trying to take in each detail: " _Last night, Lady Rimi and Sir Kaname celebrated the birth of their firstborn child, a daughter by the name of Kairi Mae_ ".

"Rimi? Kaname? Are those the names of my parents?"

Opening the third file, only two letters appeared, one addressed to Ansem the Wise and the other to this Rimi woman.

Kairi read the one to Ansem first:

"My _Lord Ansem,_

 _I just heard that your niece has given birth to a daughter. I am sure that this is a happy time for you, full of excitement, and I would like to add to that by helping to secure the future of the princess's daughter. My son, Ryuu is five years old, and, as you know, is of pure royal upbringing and will be taught in all the ways of the court and all the ways of courtesy. In order to secure the future for this new little one, I propose a betrothal between my son and the princess's daughter. Due to the princess's bloodline and her husband, finding the little one a husband one day will be difficult, as not many would allow their sons to marry someone with a tainted bloodline, but I will sacrifice my dignity to make sure that the little one has a bright future!_

 _I am sure, we can come to a reasonable agreement. I look forward to your reply,_

 _Count Taro Tengu_ "

Kairi could tell that this man was only trying to get his son into the royal family. Though, if this baby, which had the same name as her, was really her, wouldn't that make Ansem the Wise her great uncle? If that was true, then why hadn't he said anything to her?

Pushing that away, she pulled up the next letter. After only a few sentences, she felt herself becoming sick.

" _Lady Rimi,_

 _It has come to our attention that you have foolishly decided to continue the corrupt royal bloodline by having a child. Rest assured, this child, no matter how young she is, will die by our hands, just as all royals will. I would have sent this letter directly after the child was born, but we decided to watch the little royal._

 _Kairi is a lovely young girl, and her head will make a nice trophy when we take the kingdom from you corrupt royals. I would hold her close and say your farewells because judgment day is coming soon. We will rise up and destroy your family, and I swear, that your child will die by my hand. I will tear her apart in front of you, and you deserve that fate, to watch your child die and then face it yourself. Beware, the judgment will come._

 _Long live the rebellion._

 _Long life the Insurgos!_ "

"Oh my gosh…" Kairi bit her lip as she finished reading. Attached the letter was a file of some sort. The girl clicked it open and her heart leapt into her throat.

The photo was of a little girl, in a pink dress. The girl had red hair, just like Kairi's, and indigo eyes, just like Kairi's.

"It is me…" A second photo was attached, this one of herself as a toddler, with two people: a man in a white guard uniform with auburn hair and a beautiful woman with red hair just like hers. "Kaname and Rimi… my parents."

The girl stared at the photo for a while as tears of longing filled her eyes, and she wished with all her heart that she could remember these two people who seemed so happy. Most of all, she wondered what became of them.

Slowly she opened up the last file. It contained a single video. Without hesitation, she clicked on it…

* * *

" _Captain Sasuke_!"

"What is it, Tron?" the captain pulled out a small device from his pocket.

" _Captain_ ," the computer program spoke quickly. " _Someone is using one of my terminals, and they have a firewall that is preventing me from seeing what they are doing._ "

"I'll investigate immediately. What terminal are they using?"

" _Terminal B3_."

The young captain put away his communicator and quickly moved inside. Jogging to the small room, he reached out to grab the handle. Inside the room, he heard a thud and a female voice gasp and begin to cry.

Throwing the door open Sasuke looked down at Kairi. She lay on the floor beside an overturned chair, staring up at the computer screen. "Kairi… no…"

He knew the footage well… for a moment, he stood transfixed, watching on the screen as Xehanort slew Kairi's mom and dad.

Kairi watched as her parents fell at the blade of Xehanort. Sasuke quickly shut off the screen and knelt in front of the girl. "Kairi, I'm sorry. I know this is quite a shock…"

"He killed them." She shuddered and her breathing quickened. Tears began to fall from her eyes as she cried out. "He killed them! H-he killed them…!"

The guard pulled her into a hug as she fell into hysterical crying. "Shhh, it's going to be alright, Kairi… It's going to be alright…"

* * *

 **Welp, I'm just gonna… go.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), Instagram (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) What happened at the end of DDD.

(2) Xemnas told Sora about this in DDD.

(3) This is where Lea gets his voice and hair from.

(4) This… is not a date.

(5) This Flood will be explained later, but the idea came from my rps with Nintendoman01.

(6) These are Sora's KH3 clothes. He won't have drive forms because we don't know much about his new drive forms.

* * *

 **No Matter What**

Sometimes we may feel like we're all alone in the world.

Times can be hard, especially when we feel alone. I myself have been dealing with the loneliness due to many different things. In the recent weeks, I've felt lonely and alone many days to the point where I will break down in tears.

My friends who knew about this pushed me to attend counseling, and it has helped, but one cannot rely on counseling alone. With the help of God, we can overcome all forms of sadness and loneliness.

Even when we feel alone, God is always with us and he always will. I was reading my bible a few days ago when I came across this verse in Deuteronomy 31:6, " _Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you._ "

While this particular verse was God talking to the people of Israel, it applies to us as well. It is repeated later in Hebrews 13:5. So we can know in all situations, whether it be when we feel lonely when we are having difficulties in finances or life, He will always be with us and will never leave us, no matter what.


	18. Chapter 18: Truth and Suffering

**Welp…**

 **We've made it to the Capital of Feels!**

 **Enjoy the show!**

 **And for the guest reviewer, the Garnet mentioned is Garnet from Final Fantasy 9, not Garnet from Steven Universe.**

 **Thank you** **Scarlett-95** **for following this story!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Sasuke and Yamato © to Yamichaos27!**

 **Other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Truth and Suffering**

* * *

Sora sat up in bed, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. He laid a hand on his heart as he felt a deep sadness in his heart, a sadness not his own.(1)

"Kairi…?" Sliding out of bed, Sora stepped into the hallway. Kairi's room was directly beside his; he looked inside, but she wasn't there.

"Why are you awake?"

Sora turned and saw Sasuke walking towards him, carrying Kairi, who leaned against him, crying. "Sasuke? What happened?"

"I'll explain in the morning. She needs rest and comfort." The guard laid Kairi on the bed. He watched as Sora came over, sitting beside her. He put his arms around the girl, pulling her close. Kairi, without looking at him, pulled closer to him, leaning against him. "It looks like you've got this covered."

"I'll take care of her."

Sasuke watched them until they both fell asleep. He sighed, looking down at the floor. "She shouldn't have found out… not like this."

* * *

Lea rolled his head, cracking his neck as he picked up a cup of coffee. He'd gotten back later after talking with his parents.

The conversation with his dad went way better than he thought it would.

* * *

 _"_ _Lea?"_

 _"_ _Dad?"_

 _Sera smiled, pushing her boyfriend in the direction of his father. "Go on, talk to him."_

 _"_ _Alright, Sera." Lea nodded to her before walking to his father. "So, I'm going to listen to you, Dad, but make it quick."_

 _Reno sighed. "Lea, I first want to apologize for leaving you for so long. The truth is, I was assigned a secret mission. One of those missions that I'm not allowed to discuss with anyone, that also meant that I couldn't tell anyone that I was even on this mission. I'm still not allowed to discuss it in detail. But, my partner_ (2) _and I got captured; no one was supposed to know we were on the mission, so no one could know we were captured." The man looked his son in the eyes. "I know this sounds farfetched, but it's all true."_

 _"_ _I'll believe you when I know without a shadow of a doubt that you are not lying." He looked back at Sera._

 _"_ _No need to ask. I've already read his aura. He's telling the truth."_

 _Lea turned back to Reno, their eyes meeting. "Fine… we can discuss this more at dinner tonight." His gaze softened. "You've missed a lot… and I really wished you had been here for some of it."_

 _"_ _I'm sorry son…"_

* * *

His dad was sincere and wanted to make up in some way for what he had missed. Lea was willing to give him a chance.

He looked up as Sasuke sat across the table from him. "Morning, bud." As they made eye-contact, the pyro noticed a deep sadness in his eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Kairi found out, about her parents."

"What!?"

The young guard nodded. "We found a video recording of Xehanort killing Lady Rimi and Sir Kaname. Somehow, she found it…"

"Oh gosh!" Lea could only imagine what she was thinking. "Where is she?"

"Sleeping. I've already informed Lord Ansem of this, and he wants those of who knew her to meet him in the common area of the castle. When Kairi is awake, we want to explain everything to her."

"Alright, I'll be there."

Sasuke gathered everyone in the large common area. As Lea sat down near to Riku and Aqua, Ven asked, "Hey, why are we all here?"

"Well…"

"All will be explained." Ansem came in, carrying a large white box, wrapped in a purple ribbon, but his face showed no joy, only sorrow. "Sasuke, is she awake yet?"

"Yes. Sora is with her. They'll be in here in just a few minutes."

Donald tapped his foot in annoyance. "What's all this about!?"

"That's what I'd like to know too." Sora stepped into the room, his arm around a saddened Kairi.

"Kairi…"

The girl looked up at them. "I just want to understand what's going on. I want to know everything."

"Kairi, I know this is all very stressful. We'll explain everything…" The old ruler gestured for her to sit down. Sora led Kairi to a nearby sofa, where they sat down, eyes fixed on Ansem. "Kairi, I know that you are aware that you were born here, on this world. You've been searching for your past, and…" He looked around at some of the others around him. "We have been keeping it from you."

Sora stared at them. "You kept it from her? Why? She's been searching for so long, and I've seen how much losing those memories hurt her."

"We didn't want to keep Kairi in the dark," Lea spoke up, to everyone's surprise. "We just didn't know how to tell her."

Sasuke nodded. "And the fact that she didn't remember us made it harder.(3)"

Ansem looked Kairi in the eyes. "My dear. We wanted to tell you so badly. My heart broke every time I looked at you and couldn't tell you the truth, but you saw the video last night… that's partially why we didn't say anything."

"What video."

"Kairi, I know this is not pleasant, but we going to show the video to everyone. If you want to leave you may," Ienzo gave her a comforting smile. "But we have things to say first."

Ansem nodded. "Kairi, the two people you saw in the video were indeed your parents." He handed her a photograph of a young man and woman; the woman's red hair and indigo eyes mirrored her own, and the man's purple eyes shimmered happily under his auburn hair. "Their names were Kaname and Rimi Mae"

The girl reached out, shakily clutching the photograph. "Y-you knew them?"

"I should think so," the ruler blinked, revealing tears in his eyes. "Your mother was my niece; I raised her like my own child since she was a little girl. That makes me your great-uncle."

Everyone stared at him in shock, all but Mickey. The mouse king smiled. "I was wondering when you were going to say something…"

"You knew about this, Mickey?"

"I visited here once and met her. Ansem and I were talking, and she ran inside, playing with her father. I never said something, since she couldn't remember."

Ansem cleared his throat. "Kairi, your parents were the kindest people I'd ever known. They were well loved by almost everyone…"

"Then why did they have to die like that!?" Kairi stood up, tears in her eyes.

"Huh?" Riku cocked his head in confusion.

Ienzo looked over at the computer. "Kairi, if you'd like to leave for this, go ahead."

"I-I'll stay. I can take it." The girl grabbed Sora's hand, preparing herself.

"Tron, play the video."

" _Right away, and I was able to recover some additional footage that might… aid in the understanding of those watching._ "

The computer screen turned fuzzy before an image of a room appeared.

Everyone watched as the man and woman from the photo, Kaname and Rimi ran inside. Rimi collapsed to her knees, one hand on her side. Her other arm unfurled to reveal Kairi, only about five years old, but all could see it was her.

 _"_ _Are we gonna be ok?_ " Little Kairi asked, grabbing onto her mother's arm.

Rimi smiled at her. " _You'll be fine, darling…_ "

" _That's not what I asked…_ "

Kaname sheathed his sword, kneeling down and placing his hand under Kairi's chin. " _Kairi… I need you to be very brave. Go on and run ahead. We'll be right behind you. Please, do this for us. We don't want you to get hurt._ "

" _Yes, Daddy…"_ Little Kairi, with small steps, ran for one of the doorways. As soon as she was through, Rimi held up her hand, casting a barrier spell, separating Kairi from them. The little girl turned around, pressing her hands against the barrier. " _Mommy! Daddy! Don't leave me!_ "

" _I'm sorry, darling…_ " A heartless suddenly leapt at her, its claws catching the woman across the head and spraying blood down her face.

" _MOMMY! DADDY!_ "

The screen fizzled out and the video cut out for a moment. When it reappeared, Kaname stood with his sword in hand, panting just as if he had just finished a strong attack. Rimi had not moved, still kneeling on the ground. Behind her, the air shimmered and suddenly Xehanort appeared; with a swift stab, the silver-haired man ran Rimi through with a sword.

Kaname turned to see Xehanort pull the sword out of his wife's chest; Rimi collapsed, blood pooling around her.

Xehanort stepped around her fallen body. " _Such a pity… and she was so beautiful too._ "

" _Xehanort… I will never forgive you for this!_ "

" _As if that matters._ " Xehanort pointed the sword in his hand at Kaname. " _You will be joining her soon. And once I'm done with you, your pretty little daughter will be mine._ "

" _Don't you dare touch her!_ " Kaname charged, the two men locking blades. " _I should've warned Ansem about you from the beginning! I always knew you couldn't be trusted!_ "

" _That's what I always hated about you, Kaname. Your instincts are just too good._ " Xehanort trust his hand forward, launching a burst of dark fire into Kaname's chest, making the captain stumble backward. " _Still, you are a warrior of very high regard._ " The silver-haired man stuck the sword into the ground. " _Therefore, it's only fitting that you fall to a weapon of high regard._ " Darkness burst in his hand, and from it came a Keyblade.

" _A-a K-keyblade!? H-how!?_ "

" _I have long had the power. Until I regained my lost memories, I was simply unable to call upon it._ "

Kaname glared at his opponent. " _Wh-who are you?!_ "

Xehanort smirked. " _I have quite a few names actually. My heart was once referred to as Keyblade Master Xehanort. This vessel that now carries me once held the name Terra. But, as of now, I would much rather prefer it if you called me… Ansem, Seeker of Darkness!_ "

Kaname stood there for a moment, his body trembling with fury. " _What kind of man are you!? You shame your title as Keyblade Master!_ _You steal the body of another man, and now you have the nerve to defile your mentor's name by claiming it as your own, along with such a dreadful title! What did Ansem, the man who took you in when you were injured and without any memories, mean to you!?_ "

" _I must admit, serving under him had its uses. The knowledge I've gained from him, our research, and my experiments. It will all prove useful to me in my ambitions._ " The Keyblade wielder sounded so cold as he spoke.

" _Just what do you stand to gain?!_ "

" _Kingdom Hearts…_ " Xehanort slowly approached Kaname. " _The heart of all worlds. Once Kingdom Hearts is in my grasp, I will remake the worlds in my own image. I will liberate them from the tyranny of light and restore the balance of light and darkness to what it should be._ "

Kaname tightened his grip on the sword. " _You fool! Such power is too great for any one man. Continue in this endeavor, and you will only drown the worlds in darkness! Ending all existence!_ "

" _Ah, but you're the fool. Darkness is not an ending, but a beginning. When we are born, we emerge from a world of darkness into a world of light, do we not? All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it. It grows, consumes it; such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness from whence it came! You see… darkness is the heart's true essence._ "

Kaname's face took on a deadly calm. " _Are you done talking?_ "

" _What?_ "

The captain closed his eyes. " _Light and darkness are two sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other. And no matter how deep the darkness there will always be a light shining within; a light that never goes out._ " He opened his eyes, glaring at his wife's murderer. " _If you truly believe that darkness alone is the heart's true essence, then you don't understand a thing. If that were the case, I doubt there would be hearts of pure light. You say you want to restore balance, but from where I'm standing, YOU are the one who's disrupting it right now!_ "

" _I'm wasting my time and breath with you._ " The dark Keyblade wielder growled. " _To obtain what I desire, I'll need all the pieces of the puzzle. And your daughter, one of the Princesses of Heart, is one of the many pieces of that puzzle._ "

Kaname readied his katana. " _I won't let you lay a finger on her!_ "

Xehanort chuckled. " _Your courage is to be admired. But look at yourself. Great swordsman or not, you're in an awful shape to fight. Do you really think you have a chance at defeating me?_ "

Kaname seemed to understand that this was true, but he straightened up, standing his ground. " _When the lives of those I love are on the line, I never run away. I live to protect my family._ " He held up the katana in his hand. " _That was the duty I was charged with when this blade, Dawn's Might, was bestowed upon me._ " He looked at the body of his wife. " _Although I've failed one member, as long as I still have family, and as long as I'm still breathing, I will fight to protect them, no matter what the cost. That was the promise I made and I have no intention of breaking it! And for that reason, I will bet everything I've got… to take you down!_ "

He gripped the sword tightly, gathering up his energy. Xehanort just stood there, smirking as darkness clouded around him. " _SMITE OF DAWN!_ " With one final stroke, Kaname aimed to end this, once and for all…

The next moment, Kaname's stomach was split wide open; blood bubbled from his lips and poured from his wound. His knees wobbled before hitting the ground, and then the rest of him hit the ground, into the pool of his own blood.

" _How the mighty have fallen,_ " Xehanort knelt beside the fallen warrior dismissing his Keyblade. " _If you hadn't been so strong-willed, you would've proven useful to me._ " He reached over and picked up Dawn's Might before standing and moving to Rimi and taking a broach that had been on her dress. " _These shall break the Princess's spirit._ " With one last content smirk, he took up the sword he'd used to murder Rimi and strode away.

The video began to blur as Kaname dragged himself to Rimi's side.

Everyone stared at the screen, mouths open in shock and horror. Kairi leaned against Sora; about halfway through the video, she hid her face in his shoulder. The boy held her close, feeling her shaking as she sobbed.

"Xehanort murdered them…" Ven spoke first.

Ansem wiped the tears that appeared in his eyes. "I knew of their fate, but Kairi did not. I wanted to tell her everything, but how do you talk about this sort of thing to someone who doesn't even remember you, let alone tell them that their parents, who they don't remember, were murdered by a cold-hearted, body-snatching, sociopathic madman?(4)"

"I can see how that would be hard," Riku admitted.

"Kairi," The girl looked up as Ansem spoke softly. "I never wanted to cause you grief. You and I are family and we are all that's left."

Their eyes met and Kairi slowly stood up. She walked across the room before falling into Ansem's arms, hugging him as best she could in her hysterical state. Ansem embraced her back. "I'm sorry, Ansem. I'm sorry I forgot you…"

"No," he knelt down, wiping the tears from her face. "You have nothing to be sorry for. We knew in our hearts that you would remember one day, so we were content to know that."

Kairi looked at him for a moment, before her eyes widened and a memory came running back to her. She saw herself running to Ansem, climbing into his lap and calling him… "Uncle Ansem…!" Again, she grabbed him in a hug.

At hearing her say that name again, the old ruler began to cry. Pulling her to him, the two embraced.

When they pulled back, the princess felt a hand fall on her shoulder. Lea and Sasuke stood behind her; they both reached out, drawing her into another hug. Lea smiled. "It's been too long, Flower Girl."

"Flower Girl?"

"Yeah," the pyro looked down at her. "I gave you that nickname about a week after we met… you were still only a few months old. Your dad let you crawl around in the gardens and you ran into my leg. Isa and I became your official babysitters that day. Kairi, I'm sorry I never said anything to you."

"I understand your reasoning. I'm just sorry I couldn't remember any of you."

"Don't be."

Ansem sighed. "I know this must be difficult for you to take in all at once. We'll take it slow. Tonight, at supper, I'll have Even return and we'll tell you more."

"Thank you, Uncle Ansem."

"But," the ruler smiled, "I do have some things for you." He handed her a small key. "If you go up the spiral stairs by the library, there will be a small passageway with two doors. One is inlaid with gold and the other with silver. The door inlaid with silver is yours; it is the small apartment you grew up in. I had it fixed up, so it is just like it used to be."

"Thank you."

He waved to Ienzo and the young man handed Ansem the box wrapped in purple ribbon. "And this… this is for you, Lady Kairi Mae." Kairi took the box, opening it she gasped, pulling out the top of a pink ballgown.(5) "Don't worry, I'm not trying to bribe you, or act like presents will make you feel better, but I thought that you would like something to bring a smile to your face in this time of uncertainty."

"I love it, and I'm grateful for what you are trying to do." She saw the bright smile on the ruler's face and it made her heart smile. "I-I'm going to need some time to think on all of this, but I do look forward to tonight." The girl stepped back holding the box in her hands. She turned and walked away; Sora stood up and followed her.

The two walked through the castle and past the library, heading towards the spiral staircase that Ansem mentioned. When Sora reached the top of the staircase, he saw Kairi standing in front of the silver-inlaid door.

She turned and looked at him. "Sora, I don't know if I can do this…"

"I'll come with you." The boy took her hand.

Kairi took a deep breath before setting down the box with her dress; she pulled out the small key and stuck it in the lock. It turned in the lock with a click and the door swung open.

Light wooden floors laid out before them as they two stepped inside. The room looked nothing like royal chambers but like a small apartment. To their right, two sofas sat around a small table with bookshelves lining the walls. On the left, a dining table, four chairs around it, stood underneath a long mirror. Across from the door, the two could see a small kitchen. Behind the sofas, a small hallway stretched out of sight.

It was a happy place; the curtains drawn back to let the cheerful sunlight stream inside. Photographs sat on each flat surface and hung on every cream-colored wall. A small plate of cookies lay upon the table, waiting for the two to arrive.

"This is my home?" Kairi stepped inside, looking around at everything.

Sora carried in her dress, taking a moment to pause and take in the tranquility of this place. "I like it. Your parents must have been simple people who loved a quiet, peaceful place to live."

"I guess so."

The two went down the hall; a door stood on each side and one at the end of the hall. The one at the end, lay open, showing a bathroom of clean, white pieces. Sora opened the door on his left and Kairi opened the one on the right.

Sora looked into a room with pale blue walls. A large bed filled up the middle of the room with a small dresser on each side. A small shrine could be seen at the end of the bed(6), with incense that must have been burned that morning.

The boy stepped inside, looking around. He saw a small shelf with pictures of Kaname and Rimi along it. As quickly as he stepped in, he stepped back out. The room felt private, and he wanted to preserve that. Closing the door behind him, he turned and went into the other room.

Kairi stood beside a bed in the sunlight which made the light purple walls shine. "This was my room." She shuffled her feet in the soft rug by her bed.

Sora looked around at the bookshelves; some shelved books and others, toys. Dolls that any little girl would dream of having: perfectly porcelain faces, frilly dresses, and flowing locks of gold, brown, and black. Behind the bed stood a dress mannequin, ready to hold some beautiful gown until its owner was ready to wear it.

"You alright, Kairi?"

The girl fell against her bed, sobbing. "My home… my room…"

"Shh," Sora knelt beside her, holding her close. "It's alright. Just let it out."

* * *

A few hours later, Sasuke stepped into the small Mae apartment. He blocked out all the old memories and searched around for Kairi and Sora. When he stepped into Kairi's bedroom, he smiled. Kairi sat on her bed, leaning against Sora as they stared out the window.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

The two looked over at him. "I'm alright." Kairi stood up. "Just being here, it made my heart ache."

"I understand. This place brings back so many memories."

"Sasuke, how do you know me and my family?"

The guard looked out the window. "Your father was my teacher and the closest thing I had to a father. My dad, who actually trained your dad, passed away before I was born while protecting Lord Ansem. I grew up with almost no friends until I met you. You were my first friend, and you introduced me to Lea and Isa. Your dad took me as his apprentice and stepped in to fill the role of a father in my life."

"Wow." Kairi smiled.

Sasuke smiled back. "Well, I actually came here to tell you that supper is ready, and everyone is here, to tell you about anything you wish to know. So," he gestured to the door. "Shall we?"

"Of course…"

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Don't worry, the next one will be more intense.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), Instagram (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes

(1) Thanks, Yami for suggesting this!

(2) This partner is the FF character, Rude.

(3) A line suggested to me by Yami.

(4) Another line from Yami.

(5) Same one from my mmd picture on Deviantart.

(6) Got this idea from Nintendoman01's story, Darkest Storms.

* * *

 **Pain and Comfort**

Pain, suffering, sadness…

Things we see all the time. We all go through it at one point or another. But, how do you deal with that? How do you deal with suffering that seems debilitating? How do you find peace and comfort in that situation?

1 Peter 5:7 says, " _Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you_." When you go through trials, give those concerns and pains to God. He is there for you and loves you.

All throughout the Bible, there are so many moments where pain is addressed, and many other moments that tells of the comfort that people in pain will get.

Psalm 147:3, " _He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds._ "

Matthew 5:4, " _Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted._ "

Psalm 34:18, " _The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit._ "

Pain is something we all go through, but we do not have to go through it alone. We can give our pain to God and he will help us through it. Will it go away completely? No. But you will not go through it completely alone. And one day, all that pain will go away completely. We can have that hope in God, for that day.

Revelation 21:4, " _He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away._ "


	19. Chapter 19: Love and Heartbreak

**Well, I had an adventure…**

 **The flash drive containing this story decided to break, so I had to start over.**

 **Welp, let's try this again.**

 **Thank you to those who followed and favorited (I had your names written down, but the flash drive crash made me lose them, sorry).**

 **Well, enjoy all the feels in this chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Sasuke, Momo, and Yamato © to Yamichaos27!**

 **Other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Love and Heartbreak**

* * *

"So, my dad wasn't born into royalty?"

Kairi shoved a fork-full of salad into her mouth. Everyone sat around a large table in the royal dining hall; Kairi and Ansem sat at the head of the table, the place reserved for royalty.

Ansem nodded. "Your father was the son of a rebel who just happened to sneak into the castle one day and meet Rimi. Sasuke's father took Kaname in and trained him after arresting Kaname's abusive father."

"Rebel?"

"Yes," Sasuke took a drink, "The rulers before Lord Ansem, including his mother, Hanako, were horrible people who treated the common folk like garbage. Due to that, a group rose up called the Insurgos. While they originally had good intentions, they became a cruel group who believed that evil flowed in the blood, so they set out to kill all people of royal blood, no matter the age. And they would kill anyone who stood in their way. My father was killed protecting Lord Ansem against your grandfather, Orochi, who later escaped prison and became the Insurgo leader."

Jiminy took great care to write down everything he heard. "So Kairi is descended from royalty and rebels?"

"She has the blood of both sides in her, but the Insurgos didn't care."

"They don't care about anything or anyone but themselves," the young captain's voice dripped with loathing. "Because of what my father did to save Lord Ansem, the Insurgo's poisoned my mother out of spite. And then they once kidnapped Kairi, Lea, Isa, and me. They had been given orders to not kill Kairi, but to hand her over to Xehanort to receive 'a fate worse than death'. Lea and Isa were to be enslaved, and I was to be executed for my father's actions(1)."

Everyone stared in shock at Sasuke. "Are they still around?"

"Not that I know of, but I have Shinra and the guard on the lookout should they rise up again."

Ansem nodded. "They could not comprehend that my brother and I were not like our parents. We respected the people and wanted to help. My brother even married a commoner against our mother's wishes and not just any commoner, but an Ido." He noticed all the confused expressions. "The Ido were a group of people who lived in wagons and were known to be street performers and thieves.(2) My brother used to sneak out to get to know the people here, and one day he met an Ido girl who could sing with the voice of an angel; her name was Mariko. They married, and because he married her, my mother took the throne from my brother and gave it to me."

"Your brother, what was his name?" Riku asked.

"Hachirou," the ruler replied. "He and I were twins, and he was the elder by five minutes." Ansem pulled a small booklet out of his coat pocket and opened it to reveal a picture of himself as a younger man; beside him stood another man with wavy dirty-blond hair wearing glasses.

"So this is my grandfather." Kairi smiled at the photo. "He looks really nice."

"He was." Ansem put the photograph away. "Now, Kairi, I am curious about the people who raised you on the islands. What are they like?"

The princess smiled. "They're wonderful. Their names are Isaac and Talitha Mizu; my dad's the mayor and my mom owns the disaster relief businesses on the islands. They adopted me as soon as they could and gave me the best care. They even got me some psychological help for the trauma that made me lose my memories."

"I would like to meet them someday." Ansem laid his hand on hers and patted it. "I am just happy that you were taken in by good people who love you."

"I am too."

Everyone but Aqua smiled. Ven instantly took notice. "Aqua, you ok?"(3)

"No… I-I wanted to say something earlier, but I couldn't bring myself." She bit her lip. "What happened with Kaname and Rimi, the fall of this world, all of it… i-it's my fault…"

Sora cocked his head. "Your fault? How is it your fault?"

"I was the one who left Xehanort on this world."

Even coughed. "Well, that's not surprising, given that it was your armor and Keyblade with found with him. But, what happened?"

"After I put Ven's body in Castle Oblivion," the young woman admitted. "I went out to search for Terra, who had gone missing after our battle with Xehanort and Vanitas. I found him in the town square, only he had changed. At first, he didn't seem to know who he was until he outright declared that Terra's heart had been lost to the darkness. I fought him for a while until it seemed like Terra was fighting back, but then he turned his Keyblade on himself, sealing his heart in the process, and then he began sinking into a pool of darkness. I-i couldn't just let the darkness have him, so I went to the Realm of Darkness in his place."

"That's how you ended up in the Realm of Darkness," Riku quietly mused.

The young woman covered her face with her hands, shaking with emotion. "I-I just wanted to save my friend, but in doing so, I-I let Xehanort roam free… free to do as he pleased on this world. I sealed the fate of Kaname and Rimi. Kairi, Ansem… I-I'm so sorry."

"Aqua," Ven took her hand. "If it had been me who confronted Terra instead of you, I probably would've done the same thing."

Ansem nodded, giving her a gentle smile. "Do not blame yourself. You had no way of knowing what he would do."

"Xehanort played everyone for fools. His actions were not your doing."

Kairi smiled. "They're right, Aqua. None of this was your fault. It was Xehanort's. How can I possibly blame you for what happened?"

"You were just trying to save a friend; no one can fault you for that."

"I know I can't," Lea grinned. "After the stupid stunt I pulled trying to bring back one of mine."

Aqua smiled. "Thanks, everyone…"

* * *

Kairi looked around the small apartment she knew belonged to her. It felt like home, but it was lonely. She wanted to imagine her mom and dad sitting on the couch reading, waiting for her to join them, but the memories weren't there. She hurried to her room, closing the door behind her, hoping to block out those lonely feeling with the sweet embrace of sleep. But, even her dreams rang with wondering thoughts of her parents.

"Can't sleep?"

Kairi looked up from her place on the couch. She'd moved back to the apartment living area after finding it hard to sleep. Now, Sora stood in the doorway, looking down at her. "No… I'm just lost in thought."

"I can't sleep either… just overwhelmed by everything we've learned today, but I'm sure you understand."

"Yeah," the girl stood up, taking her friend's hand. "I know it's two in the morning, but let's go into town, just to get away from it all."

"Like a midnight date?"

"Sure, we'll go with that."

* * *

Kairi reached up as one of the falling beads of light sprinkled down on her. "They're like falling stars."

"I never thought this place would be so beautiful after dark." Sora pointed from their spot above the fountains. "Look, over there you can see one of the gardens. The white flowers look like the ocean back home, you know when the moon is reflecting off it."

"It looks like a sea of moonlight."

The two walked down to the bottom of the fountain court, the layers of fountains spewing into the air. Sora stopped and began taking off his shoes and socks.

"Sora, what are you doing?"

"Getting in the water."

"Are we allowed to do that?"

The boy stepped into the fountain, grinning back at her. "Well, do you see anyone to stop us if we're not?"

Kairi giggled before taking off her own shoes and socks and followed him into the fountain. They laughed, splashing one another as a small clock tower rang for 3 a.m., and still they played in the fountain.

By three-thirty the two sat down on a ledge smiling, listening to the night sounds. The gentle spraying of the fountain, sounding like gentle rain, the crickets chirping in every corner and bush in the town, and the soft song of a nightingale singing overhead; all of this coming together to perform a night-time symphony.

"Hey Kairi," Sora stood up holding out a hand to his friend. "Would you care to dance with me?"

The girl giggled. "I'd be delighted." Taking his hand, she smiled as the boy pulled her close, the two swaying softly to the sounds of the night. For how long they did this, neither could say, but eventually, Kairi laid her head on Sora's shoulder, sighing. "Thank you… I wasn't certain what to feel after everything I found out. My parents are gone and it's Xehanort's fault, but I know that I have a family on the islands, and I found my family here."

"Well, I can't tell you what to think, but I think I'd be grateful to know that so many people out there loved me."

"Yeah, you're right."

Sora leaned his head against hers. "And you know, you have someone who loves you, right here."

"Oh, Sora…"

She paused as she felt a soft kiss touch her cheek. Pulling back, she stared at him, blushing. Sora just smiled. "You know how I feel about you."

"I know… and I feel the same."

Sora put a hand on her cheek before leaning towards her. Just as the bells rang 4 o'clock, their lips met.

* * *

Sasuke yawned. Why did his shift have to start a 4 in the morning?

He patrolled along the wall above the fountain court, when he suddenly stopped, looking down to see two figures standing in the water. It took him a moment, but now he could see Sora and Kairi, arms around one another, lips locked in a kiss.

"Well, would you look at that." He smiled. "If only Master Kaname was here. He would give Sora Dawn's Might right now if given the chance."

He stood there, watching as the young couple pulled apart, walking away hand-in-hand. It was as if we could see the light of love all around them. It made his heart leap with joy.

"I worried so long about Kairi. Wondering if she was safe and taken care of, but it looks like I had nothing to worry about."

He continued his patrol, unaware of the three figures watching from the shadows.

* * *

"Where have you two been?" Donald tapped his webbed foot, staring at Sora and Kairi who sat on a bench, the boy's arm around the girl's shoulder.

"Chill out, Donald," Sora rolled his eyes. "We couldn't sleep last night."

"What did you do? Walk around town all night?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what happened." Kairi laughed.

Lea, Aqua, and Ven watched from behind the others. "Do they seem, more cuddly than usual?"

"Yeah," Lea nodded, "I think something must've gone down last night."

"Maybe…" Sasuke walked up, leaning on Lea's shoulder

"You know something."

The captain tapped his chin. "Maybe, but as your old friend I'd certainly tell you if I saw them at four in the morning, standing in the fountain court, kissing." Sasuke winked before walking toward Sora and Kairi.

"Uh, huh…"

Goofy chuckled. "You two need some sleep after being up all night."

"Isn't that what coffee is for?"

Riku cleared his throat. "I might happen to know where we can get some good coffee."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not in the least, Sasuke."

* * *

"Here you go!" Hara passed out coffee to everyone. "Riku, here's your free cup. Sorry, I can't give everyone free coffee, bad for business, but I can give you a discount."

"Thanks, Hara."

Sasuke took a sip from his mug, looking over at the silver-haired boy. "You know, Riku, when we first met at Traverse Town, I never would've guessed that you were one of Kairi's friends."(4)

"Same to you."

Jiminy took a swig from the thimble of coffee he'd been given. "You two met before?"

"Yeah. It was during the time we were all separated when Sora was in his year-long slumber to recover his memories." Riku smiled.

"I was traveling through the worlds and came upon Traverse Town." The young captain looked into his mug. "I was just relaxing when I caught wind that someone was dragging Lord Ansem's good name through the mud, and decided to look for answers. And then I spotted this figure in a black coat. I've had a few run-ins with Xigbar before so I assumed he was working with him."

"I was looking for information on Organization XIII's plans when this swordsman came out of nowhere demanding that I take him to Xigbar to get answers about who was slandering Ansem. At the time, the only Ansem I knew was Ansem Seeker of Darkness, the man who was the reason I fell to darkness, so naturally, I was a bit on edge." Riku's eyes seemed distant, remembering some time in the past.

"We ended up fighting each other, until…" Sasuke stirred his coffee, sighing. "Well, we were interrupted by Saïx, Isa's Nobody. He was the first of my three best friends I had encountered since fall of this kingdom, and he turned out like that. It wasn't exactly an uplifting reunion."

Kairi looked at the young man. "Lea told me that he found it hard to be around Sïax when his Nobody first joined the Organization."

The silver-haired boy sighed. "Anyways, after fending him off. We apologized a went our separate ways. But it was during that encounter that I learned that the man I knew as Ansem was not who I thought he was. I even sought answers from the only person I could think of, DiZ, or rather Ansem the Wise. He didn't tell me who he really was yet, but I did confirm to him that the Ansem I knew was an imposter."

Sora opened his mouth to say something when the ground suddenly shook. Hara jumped, dropping a tray of food on the ground. "What's going on?"

"We'll check it out!" Sasuke helped the girl stand. "I'll pay for the coffee, put it on my tab." He and the keybearers ran into the street, the area near the castle billowed with smoke. By the time they reached the steps, all the others had arrived.

"What's happening?"

"They're happening!" Lea pointed to three figures on the castle steps, all in black cloaks, one of which was female.

Riku grunted, "These three again."

"The guys from Terrain of Thieves."

Ansem, Even, and Ienzo came out of the castle, flanked by Dilan and Aeleus. The woman in the coat turned on them, charging. "Lord Ansem, get back!"

The guards blocked the woman's barrage of spells. Sasuke ran towards his leader. "My lo…" The taller of the cloaked men appeared in front of him, summoning a thick-bladed katana. The young guard blocked the sword.

The last man turned, leaping over the heads of the others until he landed beside Kairi. He grabbed her arm, but the girl summoned her Keyblade.

"Get back!"

The man jumped away, pulling out a katana with a red hilt. He ran in, slashing at Sora and the others.

Sora blocked the man, but his opponent stepped around, landing a deep cut on the boy's calf. The Keybearer fell, clutching the wound.

"Sora!" Kairi ran to his side, attempting to cast cure.

With the two of them out of the way, the hooded man turned towards the others near the castle. He clutched his sword, gathering energy into the blade, an orange-brown glow surrounding the sword.

The hooded woman and the other man leapt to the side. With his opponent gone, Sasuke noticed the man charging his attack, the katana.

"EVERYONE! GET BACK!" He ran towards the man as the man swung his sword in an upward arc.

Sasuke quickly charged up an attack of his own. "Crescent Divider!" A blue strike hit the other man's attack. Sasuke's attack absorbed the energy. The other two hooded figures joined the other man just as the attack destroyed the other. Sasuke's attack slammed into the three, throwing them into the gate at the bottom of the steps.

The impact against the gate sent their hoods flying off.

Everyone froze, mouths hanging open in shock and horror.

The three stood up, their faces revealed, all of their eyes golden and lifeless. None of their own personalities existed anymore, only Xehanort remained inside, but the outer appearance was as it had been: a beautiful young woman with red hair, a young man with combed-over auburn hair, and a man with messy black hair, a beard, and a scar horizontally across his cheek.

"It can't be…"

Ansem stepped forward, his hand shaking as he reached towards the three. "R-Rimi, Kaname, Yamato?"

"Mom… Dad…" Kairi gasped, staring into the lifeless golden eyes of her parents.

Sasuke dropped his sword. "Lady Rimi… Master…" He looked at the last man, and all saw the resemblance. "Father…"

The three showed no recognition towards them. Kaname took his sword, charging at them. Sasuke picked up his sword again, tearfully holding it up to block. "Master Kaname! Please! Don't do this!"

Kaname clashed against his apprentice as Rimi charged her uncle. Ansem reached out to her, but Dilan and Aeleus held him back. "Rimi… Rimi! No… What has that monster done to you!?"

"Rimi!" Even grabbed the woman's arm. "It's us! I's your family!" Rimi grabbed the scientists neck, throwing him back with an Aeroza spell.

Sora stood up, his wound cured just as Yamato attacked his own son; Sasuke's eyes were so blinded with tears that he could barely fight back against Kaname, let alone his father too. The other warriors tried to hold the three possessed people back.

Sora stared, eyes glued to what he saw as Yamato, Kaname, and Rimi found themselves forced back. The three turned, vanishing into a corridor. The boy shook with fury. "Xehanort… what have you done!?"

"No! R-Rimi!" the ruler of the world crumpled to the ground, weeping.

Kairi wrapped her arms around herself, shuddering. "Why? Why would he do this? What has he done to them?"

Everyone who knew the three all cried out in pain and horror. Just when they thought Xehanort couldn't ruin anything else, he destroyed the hearts of the Radiant Garden residents.

Sasuke clenched his fists, sheathing his sword and storming away, wiping tears from his eyes.

The rest of the group stood there in shock, unsure of what to do.

* * *

Sora walked through town, hands in his pockets. Everyone was taking time to themselves to try and sort out their feelings. He tried to go comfort Kairi, but she locked herself in her bedroom and told him to leave her alone.

He'd go back a little later to comfort her once she calmed down slightly.

Xehanort somehow brought her parents back, and Sasuke's father back and possessed them. Something like that would make anyone want some time alone.

"No! That's all you're getting." Tifa held the door to her bar open and Sasuke walked out. She patted his shoulder. "We all heard about what happened, but you are the captain and the people need you, and they especially need you sober."

Sasuke said nothing, he dragged himself over to a short wall and sat on it. Tifa turned away, closing the door behind him. Sora walked over to the captain, sitting beside him. "Hey…"

"Hey…" The two sat there in silence before Sasuke sighed. "She's right."

"She doesn't blame you though. You just had your world turned upside down."

The captain leaned his head back. "May I ask you a question, Sora?"(5)

"Yeah."

"Where does your strength come from?"

The boy cocked his head at the strange question. "Well, for me personally, it's always been, my friends."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Sora nodded. "Every friend you make creates a connection between your hearts. One's heart may be weak, but it's never alone. It grows with every new experience, and it finds a home with all the friends it makes. You become part of their hearts just as they become a part of yours. As long as you think of one another every now and then your hearts will be one."

Sasuke nodded as he listened. "That's a very interesting answer, Sora. I can respect that."

"What about you?"

"I believe a warrior's true strength comes from their will to protect others. When you have something to fight for, something to protect, it drives you to succeed, to get stronger, to protect them with your life. While some people see friends as a weight that holds you back, I see them as weights you carry for the purpose of making you stronger."

Sora looked over at him. "I see… why ask me this right now?"

The young man looked down at the ground, blinking tears from his eyes. "I just… seeing my father and my master like that. I fear that I, Kairi, or you might have to kill them. I just… I just want to make sure that the person who cares for Kairi is someone that Master Kaname and Mrs. Rimi would be proud of just in case they never get the chance to meet you for real."

"No." Sora stood up, his fists clenched. "I won't let that happen! I'm not going to let them die again! I don't care how Xehanort brought them back, but I refuse to let him take their lives from them again. I will save them from Xehanort and I will bring them home. I promise!" Without saying another word, the boy went towards the castle.

"Sora, don't make promises you can't keep…"

* * *

 **Well, that happened.**

 **Just, please review.**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), Instagram (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes

1\. This incident happened in the story I wrote with Yami: "Radiant Garden Renegades"

2\. Based on the gypsies from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". If you would like to know a little more, check out Yamichaos27's new story "Moons of Fate".

3\. Another scene courtesy of Yami!

4\. Yami not only came up with this scene, if you check out his story titled "Men in Black Coats" you can see the instance itself.

5\. Another scene by Yami.

* * *

 **Tis the Season**

It's the Christmas season again!

Many of you have heard the story of the first Christmas, but I'm going to tell it to you again.

Luke 2:1-20

" _In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world._ _ **2**_ _(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)_ _ **3**_ _And everyone went to their own town to register._

 _ **4**_ _So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David._ _ **5**_ _He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child._ _ **6**_ _While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,_ _ **7**_ _and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them._

 _ **8**_ _And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night._ _ **9**_ _An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified._ _ **10**_ _But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people._ _ **11**_ _Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord._ _ **12**_ _This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."_

 _ **13**_ _Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,_

 _ **14**_ " _Glory to God in the highest heaven,_

 _and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."_

 _ **15**_ _When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."_

 _ **16**_ _So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger._ _ **17**_ _When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,_ _ **18**_ _and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them._ _ **19**_ _But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart._ _ **20**_ _The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told._ "


	20. Chapter 20: Insurgent Interruption

**Well, sorry about all the feels in the last chapter, but we're not done just yet.**

 **I was going to have a new world here, but that didn't work out with how the last chapter ended, so we'll see what happens.**

 **Thank you** **digimonfanatic4ever** **and** **Paxixx** **for favoriting!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Sasuke, Yamato, and Momo © to Yamichaos27!**

 **All other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Insurgent Interruption**

* * *

Sora walked towards the castle, his hands shoved in his pockets. He was still in shock; how could Xehanort do something like this? Bringing people back from the dead to serve him was horrible, and he had to be stopped now more than ever.

"Sora?"

"Kairi?" The boy looked over at his dear friend. She stood by a building, arms wrapped around herself. Sora walked over, taking her hands in his own. "I'm sorry this all happened."

"It's not your fault, what do you have to be sorry about?"

"I'm sorry that I couldn't save them."

Kairi leaned against her friend, the two standing in silence. "I don't blame you… please, can we just go for a walk? I just want some time to think, but I don't want to be alone."

"Of course." The boy took her hand, walking her along the streets. They walked, not caring where exactly they ended up. Their path led out of the town and into the Great Maw.

* * *

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Hara paused at the table where Riku sat.

"Not me, but my dear friends have. It broke their hearts, and as their friend, I can't do anything to help them."

The girl put her tray down and sat across from him. "I heard… rumors may not spread fast, but they do spread. The Captain, both of them, and Lady Rimi…"

"You knew them?"

"Not personally, but everyone knew them. Captain Yamato was a famous hero that everyone aspired to be like. Captain Kaname was the celebrity crush of every girl in town: kind, loving, brave, and handsome. Lady Rimi was the perfect princess, who was beautiful, graceful, generous, and gentle. Every girl looked up to her, and many of us envied their daughter, Kairi." She looked up at Riku. "Tell me, that red-headed girl you're with sometimes, that's Princess Kairi, isn't it?"

Riku smiled. "Yeah, that's her. She arrived on our world after this one fell."

"Oh? I'm sure seeing her parents in that state was heartbreaking."

"She forgot her childhood her, but Ansem and the others told her everything the day before her parents arrived in that state, but yeah, it was heartbreaking."

Hara stood up, picking up her tray. "Give her a message for me. If she ever needs anything, food, coffee, even a place to stay for the night, let her know she is always welcome here."

"I will, thank you."

* * *

"Kairi, it's getting dark out, maybe we should head back."

"I guess…"

The young couple stood in the furthest, darkest region of the Great Maw, having just walked there without thinking. "I can use magic to make a light for us to get home by."

"Sounds goo…" Kairi took a step backward, her foot suddenly sinking into a crack in the ground. She clutched at Sora's arm as the ground beneath her crumbled apart. The two screamed as they plummeted into the dark depths below.

* * *

Jiminy, from his place on Ansem's desk, looked up at the clock resting beside him on the desk. "Sora and Kairi should have been back by now. It's two hours after sundown…"

"That's true," Ansem rubbed his eyes, obviously still in shock over what happened before. "Sasuke…"

"I'll make sure the princess gets back here safely."

"We better go too." Goofy stood up, Ven, Donald, and Riku all nodding in agreement.

The young captain nodded. "Thanks."

They all ran out into the darkness of the night to search for their friends.

* * *

Sora, after the initial fall, saw only but a little. Before everything went black, he could see rails, minecarts, and pickaxes everywhere. However, he saw this for but a moment before blackness covered his gaze.

When his eyes opened again he found himself in a dark room, his hands bound behind him. He blinked, taking a moment for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. When they finally did, he could see Kairi lying nearby, her hands bound as well.

"Kairi? Kairi, wake up."

"Huh…" The girl sat up; when her eyes opened, she blinked, looking around. "Sora? Where are we?"

The boy slid toward her. "Don't know, but if we're going to find out, we need to get untied."

"I can handle that." Sora watched as she flicked her wrist, a knife sliding out of her arm warmer. Another flick and the ropes around her wrists fell off in pieces(1).

"Since when did you carry a knife?"

"Since training." Kairi stood up, slicing off Sora's bonds. "Now, where are we?"

Sora rubbed his wrists. "A mine I think. Before I blacked out before, I saw a mine shaft, but I don't think that the rats tied us up, so we better be careful."

He looked over at her; the girl kept her eyes fixed on the dirt. "Sora, why is this day just going so wrong?"

"Don't worry," he wrapped her in a gentle hug. "It'll get better. Now, let's just focus on getting out of here." Summoning his Keyblade, Sora unlocked the door.

The two slowly made their way outside. On their either side of the door, they could see virtually nothing but darkness in either direction, dim lights dotted the tunnel at long intervals. To their right, a few other doors stood underneath the sparse lanterns.

"Which way?"

"Follow the doors, I guess." Both summoned their Keyblades, holding hands as they moved through the dark passage.

Walking through the darkness, Kairi's mind swirled as she felt a strange sense of deja vu. "I feel like I've been here before."

"Really?"

"I just… can't figure out when I was here last."

"I'm sure it will come to you." Sora paused. "Looks like a dead end ahead, but I think there's a way we can go left."

They turned, the tunnel immediately widening into a large cavern, many other passages stemming off from it(2). The room contained a plethora of overturned chairs and rotting tables around the back. Chests, full of weapons and armor lined the walls and tattered banners hung on the walls. On the side opposite the tables, a dais and a throne sat, carved from the rock of the room; above it hung a rotting banner of a black, wilting flower against a red backdrop. In the center of the room stood a square block of stone. Rings of iron jutted out from the ground around it, some still with ropes tied to them. A large ax lay on the ground nearby and the stone block was stained a dark red color(3).

"What is this place?"

Kairi looked around, her head beginning to throb as old memories struggled to come back. "I… know this place…"

" _Commander, I have something that might interest you."_

Kairi grasped at Sora's arm as she saw images flash before her. Terrifying people shoving her into a cage, pulling her into this room.

" _Who are these children?"_

" _These two are of no consequence and would be great slaves until they are needed as hostages. However, these other two… are most intriguing subjects. This boy is not only the apprentice of Kaname Mae but also the son of Yamato Kazekiri."_

" _Most intriguing… and the girl?"_

" _This one is the royal, the one I spoke to you about. She is the child of Kaname and his wife, Rimi: third in line for the throne."_

" _Kaname's little princess… well, it's an honor to finally meet you."_

Kairi shuddered, Sora now holding her up as she remembered a man, about the same age as Ansem the Wise, his hair gray with streaks of Auburn, and his eyes… oh his eyes, filled with hatred and death. The eyes of a killer.

" _Oh, come on, child. Are you telling me that you don't recognize your own grandfather?"_

" _Huh?!"_

" _Wait! You're Orochi Mae?"_

Snapping her head up, Kairi looked at Sora. "I remember… this was the Insurgo base, that Sasuke, Lea, Isa, and I were brought to when we were kids."

"The Insurgos? Oh, the rebels who…" The boy froze. "We're in their base, and we're not alone. Someone tied us up."

"Oh no. The Insurgos are back!"

* * *

"We've searched all night, where could they be?"

Sasuke sat down, crossing his legs, and closing his eyes. "I'm not certain, but I'll try again to locate them. I may not be as good as Master Kaname was, but I'll try."

"This doesn't seem good," Lea mused. "You don't think that Xehanort got to them?"

Mickey shook his head. "Don't think like that! Anyways, if he had gotten to them, I'm almost certain we would know by now."

"Xehanort would have come and shown us that we'd lost, probably with a possessed Sora in tow." Jiminy clutched his journals nervously.

Ansem paced nervously. "That is correct, which makes me all the more concerned. The last time something like this happened, you kids were caught in a rockslide, and the time before that, you were kidnapped by the Insurgos."

"Yeah, if this were before the fall, I would've suspected the Insurgos right away," Dilan admitted.

Goofy scratched the top of his head in confusion. "Why couldn't it be them now? It may have been years ago, but they could've survived and gone to other worlds."

Sasuke's brow creased, beads of sweat forming on his brow. Suddenly his shoulders relaxed and his eyes shot open. "Goofy, I think you might be right... "

"Huh?"

"I was finally able to sense Kairi's light." His eyes ghosted over with haunting memories of the past. "It's underground, in the old Insurgo base."

"This is bad…"

Riku clenched his fist, looking over at the young captain. "What are we waiting for? You know the way down there, so let's go!"

* * *

"I'm telling you, that's Princess Kairi!"

Sora and Kairi stopped in their tracks. They picked a passageway to try and find a way out of the caverns, but as they neared a room, they heard voices.

A young, but deep male voice scoffed. "Your old eyes might be playing tricks on you. We don't know if that really is the princess."

"I know!" An elderly female voice gasped. "I knew the faces of Rimi and Kairi well enough, especially since I was able to get close to them sometimes, being Kaname's aunt and all. I was even there the day my brother had Kairi and those other brats captive here! I should know exactly what the princess looks like!"

"Uma, relax." An equally elderly voice spoke. "We can just as easily torture them to find out the truth."

"If that is Kairi, then that boy must be Sora." Came a young female voice, perky but dripping with a sinister purpose. "Apparently, he's her lover from another world and a Keyblade wielder."

"Killing him would send a good message too," Uma said. "We may be the only Insurgos left, but if we are able to kill these two, we will send a message that will unite those who stand with us. It won't be long before we kill Ansem, and finally, the royal bloodline will be over."

Another male voice spoke. "What about those who say that Yamato, Rimi, and Kaname still live? They were seen yesterday."

"I don't believe in ghosts, but if they are back, we'll kill them too! This friend you brought back from Insomnia(4), Baylee, will do the job perfectly."

Sora poked his head out just enough to see the six figures in the room. There was an old woman with white hair standing beside an old man with gray hair. Across the long table in the room's center stood the other four figures.

The young woman with blue hair, that had to be Baylee, grinned. "Thank you, Uma. Ayakashi is a powerful daemon(5), and will be able to handle any swordsman that comes his way." She gestured to a figure who stood in the corner; he was nine feet tall and looked like a samurai, clad in a purple-pink kimono and a hat on his head. Over his shoulder, he carried a massive katana, not as long a Sephiroth's, but just as intimidating.

"Don't be so overconfident.

"And don't you be so stiff, Alvin." Baylee glared at the brown-haired man beside her.

The old man held up his hand. "Relax. Ducane, go to the prisoners and bring them to the main hall. We shall see if they are who we think they are."

The last man laid his hand on a whip at his side. "With pleasure, Takeshi."

"Move." Sora took Kairi's hand, pulling her back down the hall into the shadows. They waited until the man, Ducane, walked past them. "We have to get out of here."

"That woman, sh-she's my great aunt."

"I know." The boy took his friend's hands. "But, that doesn't matter right now. They want us, more specifically, you dead. We can't go that way though, there's no way to get past that door without them seeing us. We'll have to go back and find another way."

"Alright…"

The young couple ran back to the large room, looking around at all the passages. "Now, which way should we go?"

"This one, I guess." She pointed to a tunnel nearly right across from them, but as they hurried towards it, Kairi felt a sting on her back. "Augh!" She fell down, only for Sora to catch her; something wrapped around her leg.

"ESCAPE!"

The two saw Ducane behind them, his whip wrapped around the girl's leg. Sora grabbed his Keyblade, slicing at the whip; as soon as he cut it off, the other Insurgos came running in. "Kairi, run!" He helped her stand as they ran for the tunnel.

"Stop them!"

"Ayakashi!" Baylee screamed.

The daemon charged, drawing its katana. Sora held up his blade just in time to stop the attack. "Kairi, run!"

"No! I want to help!" She pulled the whip remainder off her leg, summoning her Keyblade.

The Ayakashi took a step back, its sword poised to strike. The two keybearers stood in front of the Ayakashi. "Don't kill them," Uma mused. "I want them alive, so I can kill them myself!"

The monster attacked, the two warriors unable to do anything but block. "A-Aunt Uma!" Kairi yelled, "Please don't do this!"

"Silence, brat!" The daemon managed to slice Kairi's arm while she was distracted. Her great aunt only laughed. 'I've waited since your birth to kill you!"

Kairi clutched her shoulder, shaking as her eyes looked at the ground. "I can't believe you… you're my family. I just found out that my parents died and are now suffering again! Now, my own family wants to kill me! WHY! WHY!" Suddenly, light exploded from her, throwing everyone away.

When Sora looked back at her, she was glowing, dressed in white with angel wings spreading from her back. "Kairi?"

The girl did not spare him a single glance. Holding out her hand, a sword of light appeared before she charged forward, slicing the Ayakashi in half with one attack. The moment it vanished into black dust, she fixed her glowing white eyes on the Insurgos.

"What is she!?"

"Run!"

Kairi flew down, the blade of light becoming a mere rod of light. She slammed the weapon into the Insurgos, throwing them across the room.

Sora looked away from her as he heard footsteps; Sasuke, Mickey, Riku, and all the others came running in, swords drawn, just in time to see Kairi hit Uma and the others away.

"What's going on?"

"I-I don't know. She just went nuts and sprouted wings." Sora gasped. "But, man, I'm glad you guys are here."

Kairi lowered herself down, and she reverted back to her normal look the moment her feet touched the ground. Unlike the last time, she didn't collapse. "Wh-what happened?" She looked around at everyone and everything.

"Let's get these Insurgos to the dungeon and we'll talk."

* * *

"So, I grew wings, started glowing, and this is the second time I've done it?"

"Yeah…"

Ansem hugged his great niece. "I'm just happy you're safe and don't worry about this strange power, I will look into it."

"Thank you." She sighed. "I'm glad the Insurgos were caught."

"As am I."

Donald looked over at Sora and Kairi. "Well, guess we are leaving in the morning, unless you need some more time, Kairi."

"I'm fine, Donald. I think I could use some time off-world to gather my thoughts, and we need to track Xehanort down. That's more important than my feelings."

She paused as Sora hugged her. "Don't think like that. We all care. But, if you want to go, we'll go."

"Thanks, Sora."

Mickey smiled. "Get some rest so we can leave early in the morning."

"Alright."

* * *

"Lord Ansem," Even cleared his throat. "What would you like me to do about our project?"

The old ruler looked up from his work; Kairi and the others left for the other worlds less than twenty minutes ago, and he was already working hard. "Go on back to Twilight Town and continued as scheduled. I will remain here. When Ienzo returns from his excursion with Miss Croft, I will have him help me research what happened with Kairi."

Even nodded. "Do you have any theories as to what happened to her?"

"No, but I do have one as to why she snapped. She learned that her parents were murdered by Xehanort, the next day she found out her parents were possessed by Xehanort, and today one of her only living relatives tried to murder her. Anyone would snap." He sighed. "I really think that some time away from here will do her some good, and though I would like to focus completely on what happened to her, I'd like you to contact me when you reach the final stages of our project in Twilight Town."

"Of course."

* * *

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), Instagram (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

1\. Reference to Training Series

2\. I imagine the music here, and the theme for this group, to be "The Death Waltz" from the game Little Nightmares.

3\. Sound familiar to anyone?

4\. Yes, this is a FF15 reference.

5\. A powerful optional boss in FF15 and most of its attacks are either an insta-kill or put one's health in critical condition. 

* * *

**Present Time**

With Christmas right around the corner, gifts are on the mind of so many people. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't excited for presents (I've already shaken one to try and figure out what's in it).

We've all heard that Christmas is about giving, not getting, and we even have Santa to show us this, but giving should not just be a once a year thing.

Psalms 37:21 says, " _The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives._ "

There's also the fact that it does feel good to give gifts to people, but giving gifts should not be something we do because we should do it. The heart behind the giving should be cheerful and not selfish.

2 Corinthians 9:7 says, " _Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver._ "

Remember to have a cheerful heart of giving during this season of giving!


	21. Chapter 21: Agrabah- Father and Son

**Well, I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas season!**

 **I'm looking forward to starting off this new year with a new story!**

 **Thank you Leafeon13 for following and favoriting!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Aladdin © to Disney!**

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Agrabah- Father and Son**

* * *

The atmosphere on the gummi ship was far different than it had been. No one really felt happy, but they kept up appearances for the sake of one. Kairi sat in the back of the ship, writing furiously in a journal. Drawings lay about her after her attempt to follow her doctor's orders.

She didn't look up as Sora stepped into the room. "Hey, Kairi…"

"Hi."

"Have you had anything to eat today?"

"No."

"I kinda figured." He knelt beside her, holding a plate of steaming food. "It's some of my grandma's Sardine and Tomato noodle soup(1). I know how much you like it." Kairi didn't move. "You have to eat. I'll feed it to you myself if I have to, but I won't let you starve yourself."

The girl looked up at him. "Thank you…" She leaned against him before taking the spoon from the bowl.

As she ate, Sora smiled. "We're heading to Agrabah to check on Aladdin. Since it's a place you're familiar with, we thought you might be more comfortable. And you'll have Jasmine to talk to."

"I like that idea."

"By the way," Sora watched her eat, "have you talked to Jiminy about all this. I'm sure he could help a little."

The girl shook her head. "No..."

* * *

When the group landed in front of the palace, they could see Genie pacing in front. "Hey, Genie!"

"Sora!" The magical being turned, stretching his arms as he pulled them all into a massive bear hug. "You brought your friends! And a new one at that!" He set them upright and held his hand out to Ven, "Hello, and who might you be?"

He laughed, "My name is Ventus, but you can call me Ven!"

"Ven huh, you remind me of someone I saw a few years ago… but whatever(2)." He shook his hand. "Now, what brings you back here? Is it because you want to meet Aladdin's father?"

"His father?"

Genie smiled, "Yes! Aladdin found him!"

"He rescued him from the Forty Thieves then, that's good news…"

"Hold on there partner!" Genie turned into a cowboy and covered Sora's mouth with a bandana. "It's a bit more complicated than that. His father wasn't a prisoner of the Forty Thieves… he's…" His voice lowered to a whisper, "He's the King of Thieves."

"WHAT!"

Riku raised an eyebrow, "Are you serious?" The blue man nodded. "That's certainly a surprise. Where is he now?"

"Inside, Aladdin is introducing him to the Sultan. I'll take you to see them." In a puff of smoke, they found themselves outside the throne room.

Aladdin and an older man who greatly resembled him jumped at their sudden appearance. "Hey, guys!"

"And who might these familiar faces be?" The older man mused.

"Dad," Aladdin smiled, "This is Sora, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, Riku, Mickey, Lea, and… actually, I don't know him."

Aqua smiled, "This is Ven."

The man bowed to them, "Hello, though we have met before, it was on the wrong foot. My name is Cassim. Now son, let's go meet your wife-to-be and her father."

The group walked into the throne room, catching Jasmine and the Sultan's attention. "Aladdin!" The woman embraced her love before she noticed Cassim. "Who's this?"

"Jasmine," the young man smiled, "This is my father, Cassim."

Cassim bowed to her, "My boy Aladdin must have been born under a lucky star to find such a treasure."

"You are most definitely Aladdin's father." She giggled slightly.

Genie made a DNA strand appear. "I have the DNA to prove it."

"It must have been dreadful," The Sultan approached Cassim, "Trapped by the Forty Thieves!"

"Uh oh…" Everyone tensed slightly.

Aladdin's father played it off well. "I try to block out the memories…"

"Say no more, not another word on the subject!"

Cassim picked up the Sultan, "Yes, let's turn our attention to happier thoughts. The blessed union of our children!"

Aladdin turned to the group, "It worked guys! They love him!"

"It's the hat." Genie took off his scalp, "Nothing does the trick like a smart chapeau."

Cassim smiled back at his son and friends, "Ah, back among civilized people, back among family…"

Sora smiled, "All he needed was a second chance."

"Yeah!"

"It's a miracle…"

* * *

Kairi and Aqua stood with Jasmine and the Sultan in the hallway outside the throne room. Jasmine wore her wedding dress and the other girls wore purple dresses with a blue lining.

The Sultan paced about, but Aqua smiled hopefully, "Your majesty, I'm sure they'll be here soon."

"Oh, where could he be? I do hope nothing's wrong. Perhaps we should dispatch a search party?"

Jasmine cut off her father's pacing, "Now, father Aqua's right he's… on his way." She let out a worried sigh before noticing Kairi, who stood silently by. "Kairi, is something the matter?"

"It's nothing…"

"That's not true." The older Princess of Heart took Kairi's hand. "Tell me, what happened."

* * *

The boys stood beside Aladdin and Genie in the wedding pavilion waiting on Cassim, but he was nowhere in sight. "Where is he?"

Genie shrugged. "My guess is he wants to make an entrance."

The Sultan and the girls entered the room. Sora locked eyes with Kairi and saw that she had been crying. He went to her as Aladdin's fiancé sighed, "Do you think something is wrong?"

"Genie," Goofy asked, "Can you find him?"

"I'll sniff him out." The genie turned into a dog and began sniffing around, "I need a scrap of his clothes or a lock of his hair…" His nose hit a pair of shoes in his path. "Or shoe, a shoe is good…" All eyes looked at the wearer of the shoe.

"Huh!?" The largest and most stubborn of all the castle guards, Rasoul, held Cassim in cuffs.

"Rasoul, what is the meaning of this?"

The guard pushed Cassim forward, "Your majesty, meet the King of Thieves."

"Dad!" Aladdin, Sora, and Ven moved towards him, but other guards held them back.

"We seized him in the Treasury. He was after this… again." Rasoul held the Oracle's rod out to the Sultan.

"No…" Cassim sighed at his son's horrified expression.

"And this is his accomplice." Another guard, Nahbi, pulled out Iago, his wings pinned by a cuff.

"Iago…"

"Big misunderstanding!" The parrot squawked, "It's a slap on the wrist and, uh, community service kinda thing!"

Aladdin turned his face away, "Now I know why you really came back…" His father hung his head.

"Your father is the leader of the Forty Thieves? This is most… ooh!" The Sultan closed his eyes, trying to really understand the situation.

"Aladdin, did you know?"

"I thought I could change him, I had to try!"

"You can change my clothes Aladdin," the King of Thieves said, "You can't change who I am."

Rasoul, enjoying Cassim and Aladdin's misery, grinned, "And the law is crystal clear on what we must now do!"

"Father," Jasmine pleaded, "Isn't there another way?"

He shook his head sadly, "I'm afraid there is not. Take the prisoners to the dungeon."

"Dungeon?"

"For life."

"LIFE?" The guards led the two away.

Genie put a hand on Aladdin's shoulder, "There are some wishes that even I can't make come true…"

"The Oracle was right," Aladdin plopped down on a cushion in his old home in the city. Behind him stood Genie, Carpet, Abu, and the other boys except for Sora, "My dad was trapped in the world of the Forty Thieves. Trapped by his own greed. I was so stupid to think I could change him."

Goofy put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Trying to show him a better life wasn't stupid, Aladdin."

"Leaving him alone with the parrot," Lea cut in, "That was stupid." He shrugged as Donald glared at him.

Aladdin stared up at the stars, "Everything was perfect before he came into my life. I just want things the way they were." He stood up, turning to the others, "Genie, I need my father's clothes."

"Al, what did you wrap the turban too tight?" He made a twisting motion with his fingers.

"Yea, why would you want to dress in the 'King of Thieves' ensemble?" Ven cocked an eyebrow.

Cassim's blue robe appeared; Aladdin took it and began putting it on. "Uh, Aladdin… might I suggest something that doesn't actually say, 'Arrest me'!?"

Aladdin smiled as he put the hood on, looking exactly like his father, "It fits, good!"

Genie turned into the Oracle and said, "I'm seeing, I'm seeing…" He changed back. "Nothing for your future if you dress like this!"

"I'm breaking my father out of the dungeon. The guards will never know I was there. Tonight, the King of Thieves will make the most miraculous escape ever… out of my life." He leapt out the window and vanished

* * *

Sora sat in the palace, waiting for Kairi to change out of the dress given to her by Jasmine. The girl came out, in her normal clothes. "Sora, I thought you'd be with the others."

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Jasmine and Aqua followed Kairi out, but as soon as they saw Sora, the two turned leaving the young couple alone. Kairi sighed. "I just… talked to Jasmine about what happened."

"And?"

"And what? She can't do anything but feel sorry for me. No one can." Kairi bit her lip as tears came to her eyes again. "I gained everything and lost it again. I found out who I was, and then those joyful and sad memories came to life in the form of torture."

Sora walked to her, wrapping his arms around her. "I promise I'll save them…"

"Can you really promise that?"

"Maybe not, but I can promise that I will free them from Xehanort… one way or another."

"One way or another?" Kairi looked at him. "I don't think I could do that…."

"You won't have to." The boy kissed her forehead. "I won't make you do that. If the only way to save them is to finish them, then I'll do it, so you, Sasuke, Lea, or anyone who knew them doesn't have to. But I will try my hardest to find a way to save them without harming them."

"Thank you, Sora."

The two smiled, but it broke as the others came inside, heading directly for the throne room, their faces covered with worry. The two followed, finding Aladdin, standing before the Sultan with Rasoul beside him, grinning cruelly.

"What happened?"

"Aladdin broke Cassim out of prison."

"What!?"

The Sultan frowned down at his future son-in-law. "Frankly, my boy, your actions were most disappointing."

Rasoul could not seem to hide his joy, "It is tragic your highness, but the street rat has obviously followed in his father's footsteps. Aladdin is a criminal."

Genie popped up, dressed as a lawyer, "I object, your honor." The throne room turned into a courtroom with the Sultan as judge, Rasoul as bailiff, and the rest of the gang as the jury. "I object to that outrageous statement. And I object to a tertiary character having any lines during my big courtroom scene." He shoved a briefcase into Rasoul's hands, "Take this to a higher court, chow!" With a blast of magic, the guard disappeared. "Your honor, if I may enter a plea of insanity because I'm crazy about this kid!" He gave Aladdin a noogie.

"Genie," the young man pushed him away, "I can handle this myself. Sultan, I convinced my father to come here. It was my fault. I would've been better off if I'd never known him."

"Aladdin, you found your father. A father who risked his freedom to see your wedding. And you risked everything to save him. Just as I would for my father." Jasmine hugged her fiancé.

"Your father?" The Sultan's face softened, "Well… well yes… Aladdin, I could not overlook your father's crimes, but what you have done, well, you did it out of love. And you came back to take responsibility for your actions. Let us put this matter behind us. I believe we have postponed the wedding long enough."

Everyone smiled as Genie conjured a giant set of hands which led the Sultan away, "Let's give a big hand for the wise and generous Sultan!"

Everyone giggled before familiar scream rang out; Iago fell from the sky, looking battered. He bounced off Carpet and into Kairi's hands. "Al's dad… Sa'luk…"

"Hey, just take a deep breath, Iago. Now, what about Aladdin's father?"

The bird coughed, "It's Sa'luk, the guy Al beat. He's not beat, he's back."

"Who's Sa'luk?"

"You numbskull," Iago yelled at Riku, "It's that big dude with the gold claws… you know, the one who threw you into a pillar at the wedding! That guy! He's back and he's got Cassim!"

Aladdin frowned, "That's his problem. He chose to go back to that life…

"Aladdin, your dad's made a lot of bad choices, but that doesn't mean you have to."

Sora agreed, "He is your father, how can you do anything else?"

"I'm being as stubborn as he was…" Aladdin turned back to Iago, "Show me the way!"

* * *

Dawn broke to find the group flying across the sea, following a strange light trail in the water, probably created by the Oracle, to find the island that never appeared in the same place twice.

As they approached the end of the trail, they could see a boat containing four thieves, Sa'luk, and Cassim. The water tossed as a city began rising out of it. "The Vanishing Isle!"

"On the back of a giant turtle!" The castle sat atop a giant turtle that was now coming up for air.

"And never in the same place twice. Let's get closer."

They zipped in and could see Cassim in chains, led by Sa'luk. Genie turned into a muscular man and parachuted down, "Prepare to rock and roll, dudes!" He began firing lasers towards the thieves; as they tried to run, they found themselves blocked by Abu, Carpet, Aqua, Kairi, and Jasmine.

The thieves laughed but soon found themselves no match for the rug, monkey, and ladies.

Genie appeared beside them as a monk. "I am here…" He vanished and appeared on their other side, "I am here." This kept them distracted enough so that Kairi and Aqua could push a griffin statue down on them. All but one large thief found themselves. Again Genie jumped in; this time as a hillbilly with a large beer-belly. "How 'bout a packet of Nutty Buddies?" Using his huge stomach, he bounced the thief back.

"Genie, we need a distraction!"

"Survey says: Show me turtle!" He flew off toward the turtle's mouth.

Whatever he did caused the entire island to shake, throwing Sa'luk and Cassim to the ground. Aladdin and the boys jumped down, facing Sa'luk as Cassim looked on in surprise. As the gray-skinned thief got up, Aladdin uppercut him, knocking him out. "It took me years to find my father. I'm not losing him again!"

"You came to help?" Cassim gasped as Sora unlocked his chains.

"How could he do anything else?"

"Yea," Sora gave him a thumbs up, "Now, let's get that treasure of yours."

The air around them tingled as a group of Unversed and Heartless appeared around them. "Well, this is just great!"

"We think it is!" Vanitas stood above with a man in a black coat, his hood covering his face.

Aqua and Kairi joined them as Ven yelled. "Sora, Riku, go with Aladdin and Cassim. We'll handle these guys!"

"Gotcha!"

The four split off, going down into a large stone cavern. "Amazing!" Cassim pointed upwards and they could see a giant golden hand floating above them.

Suddenly the cavern shook violently. "Whoa!" Riku steadied himself, "Feels like Genie got carried away!"

"No! It's the Vanishing Isle! The turtle is diving! We must climb higher!" Water began pouring into the cavern. The four of them clung to a wall and began climbing as water came in from all sides. As they neared the hand, Cassim looked down at his son, "Almost there! Can't you see Aladdin? We were meant to do this together! Come on!

They reached a cleft on the wall at the same level as the floating golden hand, but the hand floated a good distance from them; now they could see that golden statue of a man, holding a golden hand with a blue handle stood on the giant hand. Cassim looked at it with sadness and amazement. "Pity I didn't find this place years ago. The would have been much easier if I were younger. He got ready to jump the gap but, before he could, Aladdin zipped past him and leapt towards the hand.

"ALADDIN!"

The young man grasped the edge of the hand, pulling himself up. "See," Riku looked at Cassim with a smug smile, "It pays to have junior partners!"

"Be careful!" the father watched his son with worry, "Don't touch the golden hand."

Aladdin pulled on the hand's handle until the hand slid out of the statue's grip. He smiled at his dad, "Heads up!" He threw it, and Cassim caught it in his cape; as soon as the hand touched his cape, turning the fabric into pure gold.

"Whoa!"

"Ha ha! The Hand of Midas!" The King of Thieves held it by the blue handle as he touched the hand to the floor. Instantly the entire cavern turned to solid gold.

Sora turned to his smiling friend who still stood on the hand, "Time to go, Aladdin!"

Aladdin moved to jump back, but suddenly Sa'luk leapt down, grabbing Aladdin, his golden claws at the young man's throat. "Nobody's going anywhere. Give the Hand of Midas to me, Cassim or your son dies."

"Sa'luk, your battle is with me!" Cassim stood tall at the boys beside him summoned their Keyblades.

"Don't worry," Aladdin called to them, "I can take 'em alone."

"But you're not alone. Not anymore." Cassim smiled. "You want the Hand of Midas, Sa'luk? Take it!" He threw the golden hand to the large thief.

Sa'luk dropped Aladdin and caught the hand, laughing, "The Hand of Midas is mine! And also, the life of your brat." He turned to Aladdin and saw the fear in the boy's eyes. "What are you staring at?" Following Aladdin's gaze, the thief saw, to his horror, that he caught the Hand of Midas by the golden hand itself. His arm had already begun turning into solid gold. "No… no… no… NO… AHHH!" He released the hand, but the damage was done. Sa'luk fell off the hand, turning into solid gold as he fell.

"Hurry, son!" Cassim yelled, "We're running out of time!"

Suddenly the ground shook, and a booming voice yelled, "NO… YOU'RE OUT OF TIME!"

Out of the rising water rose a giant golden version of Sa'luk with the symbol of the Heartless in his chest. "NOW I WILL DESTROY YOU CASSIM, YOUR BRAT, AND THOSE MEDDLESOME KEYBLADERS!" Darkness began pulsing around him. "BE DESTROYED!"

* * *

Vanitas grinned down at the other warriors as they battled the Heartless and Nobodies.

"I have missed this. Just like old times, isn't it?"

"Shut up!" Ven slashed a Flood to shreds; his eyes caught a slight shudder that went through the black-haired boy.

The ground shook as the turtle began to dive. Mickey turned to the two, leaping up to challenge them. Vanitas didn't react, but let the other man with him handle it. The figure summoned a dark Keyblade and blocked Mickey's attack. The mouse reached past the hood, casting Aero to unmask the man before leaping away.

His heart sank as he saw the face under the head of silver hair. "It can't be…"

"Oh, but it is." Vanitas grinned as everyone looked up, but the greatest joy came to him when he saw the faces of Aqua and Ven turn to horror.

"Terra!?"

"Or as Braig and I like to call him, Terranort." Vanitas laughed. "Isn't that right."

Terranort's face split into a smile. "Indeed it is. Now, I would suggest you stop gaping and move to higher ground. I would hate it if you died by drowning; I'd like to kill you myself."

A portal opened behind them and the two sunk into it as water began to pool around the group.

"Aqua, Ven," Lea called out to the stunned friends. "We can think about this later! Let's go!" He dragged them off.

Sa'luk's Heartless sent a blast of energy at the four; they dodged. "Watch it!" Riku warned; when they looked back, the ground on which they had been standing was now solid gold. "If he hits us, we'll become gold statues!"

"Noted!" Again they dodged another blast of energy.

Sora glared at the golden titan, "Let's do this!" Sora charged forward, slamming his Keyblade into the monster's face. The Midas Giant Heartless roared in pain and grabbed the spikey-haired Keyblader. "Ahh!" Sora's body began to feel heavy and solid; he looked down and saw his lower body turning to gold.

"SORA!" Riku jumped up and hit the Heartless's hand with a Dark Fiagara. He grabbed his friend as he fell from the titan's grip, stumbling as Sora's lower half was now solid gold. The boy's face contorted in pain, but as he stood there out of Sa'luk's grip, his body slowly turned back to normal. "You ok Sora?"

Sora nodded slowly, clenching and unclenching his feet as they returned to normal, "I never want to feel that much pain EVER again!"

"I bet…" Riku left his friend to recover as he joined Aladdin and Cassim. Aladdin jumped up and cut Sa'luk under the symbol on his chest. Again, the Heartless roared and grabbed Aladdin.

"LET GO OF MY SON!" Cassim ran up Sa'luk's arm and roundhouse kicked him in the face. Riku followed the King of Thieves up the monster's arm and to his face. After Cassim jumped back, Riku drove his sword directly into the Heartless symbol. Sa'luk unleashed an unearthly roar as he vanished, and a heart floated away into the sky.

Aladdin picked up the Hand of Midas from the floating golden hand. He tore off a piece of his sleeve, wrapped the Hand in it, and the cloth turned to gold; he stuck it in his belt and came back over to his father and the other boys.

By this point, the water lapped at the bottom of the hand. They leapt to the walkway and ran up and outside; as they ran Cassim fell behind. "Come on old man!" Riku stopped to wait for him, as the water lapped at their heels.

"Yes," the older man called, "But it would be a lot easier without this…" He took off his solid gold cape and flung it behind him, into the water. "And if you call me 'old man' again, I'll shave that pretty silver hair off your head."

"I'd like to see you try…"

The group made it outside; Aladdin pulled out the Hand of Midas and unwrapped it. "After all these years, you finally have your treasure."

Cassim took it and scoffed, "This thing? No. This wretched thing almost cost me the Ultimate Treasure. It's you, son. You are my Ultimate Treasure." He embraced Aladdin in a loving hug. "I'm just sorry it took me this long to realize it. The Hand of Midas can take its curse to the bottom of the sea!" With a smile, he threw the Hand over the edge of the island and into the boat of the other thieves, making it sink with them in it.

* * *

The rest of the group stood atop a pillar. Iago flew up and landed on Aqua's shoulder, "I didn't see where they went it, they could be anywhere!"

"There they are!" Aqua didn't respond but both Princesses of Heart pointed up towards the top of the island.

"Get up here you blasted rug!" Carpet flew up and picked up the four.

"Ven," Mickey looked at him. "We need you and Aqua to summon your gliders."

Carpet flew by as the two Keyblade wielders summoned their gliders, taking the rest of the group. They watched as the island sunk below the ocean.

"Genie?"

The turtle raised its head out of the sea and took one last breath of air; as it did so Genie came out with a black and white steamboat looking like he came out of Timeless River.

"Genie?"

Genie flew up beside Carpet with a huge grin. "Present!"

"Let's go home." Aladdin looked to his fiancé, "We have some unfinished business."

* * *

The wedding went off without a hitch(3), but Ven and Aqua couldn't focus. The moment Jasmine and Aladdin left, everyone went back to the gummi ship.

Mickey explained to Sora and Riku what happened with Terranort; Aqua and Ven disappeared into their rooms.

"So, now we know where Terra is," Riku sighed. "Xehanort is just trying to hurt us at this point." He could've found other vessels to use, but he picked Terra, Kairi's parents, and Sasuke's father."

"He claims to be doing this all out of curiosity for what happened after the war, but at this point, he is just trying to spite us."

Kairi wrung her hands. "I understand how Aqua and Ven feel… he is using the people we love against us…"

"We'll have to stop him!" Sora clenched his fist. "We can't let him get away with doing this! I won't let him!"

Everyone stared at the boy. He looked beyond angry. "Sora, calm do…"

"No! Xehanort has ruined too many lives! I won't let him ruin anymore!"

Suddenly the ship lurched. "What the heck!?"

"Brace yourselves!" Donald yelled from the pilot seat, "We're caught in a supernova blast!" The ship rocked again, this time more violently; the force threw everyone against the walls.

Aqua and Ven stumbled out of their rooms just in time to look out the window with everyone else. A huge explosion suddenly began imploding back in on itself, turning into a black vortex. "The supernova collapsed into…"

Ven's eyes widened as their ship moved towards the vortex, "… A black hole!"(4)

* * *

 **Well, this is just in time for the new year!**

 **Please Review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1)I looked up island dishes and this came up.

(2)If you remember, Genie met Roxas and Xion.

(3) No PoH kidnapping this time. 

(4) The world will remain the same as the old one. 

* * *

**Legacy**

With the end of the year quickly approaching everyone is thinking the future. People are making their resolutions, but the future is more than just what you do.

My family met today and we had 33 people in the house (with a lot missing) and 12 of them were kids from the ages of 2 months to 9 years old.

This made me think of the legacy that we all leave behind. While some of you are like me and don't have any kids yet, I assume that most of you have family or friend who have/are young kids. They are the next generation and they are your legacy. Even if you are not a Christian, I would assume that you want the kids to be good people. As we are older than them, the kids look up to us. They look at us and see what they want to be like.

I know this is short, but as this year comes to a close, take a look at the examples you set and the legacy that you're leaving behind.


	22. Chapter 22: Legacy Space- Silver

**This was originally going to be one massive chapter, like in the old story. However, I decided to cut it in half, as the chapters would end up being about the same length that way.**

 **BTW, Happy New Year!**

 **I would like to thank** **Serotonin2501** **,** **The Protector of the Universe** **,** **actress4him** **, and** **DragonMack** **for following and/or favoriting!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Treasure Planet © to Disney!**

 **Sasuke and Yamato © to Yamichaos27!**

* * *

 **Chapter 22: Legacy Space- Silver**

* * *

The ship slowly fell towards the black hole. Everyone grabbed onto something as a wave shot out of the hole, blowing the ship back.

"Those stupid waves!" Donald squawked.

Ven grabbed the controls, looking at the scanner as he tried to keep the ship upright. "Look, there's a pattern to them."

Riku said, "There'll be a second one in a minute and then the biggest one of all!"

Sora's suddenly gasped. "Ven move!" He grabbed the controls and steered them towards the black hole.

"What are you doing!?"

The boy smiled "We're gonna ride that last wave outta here!"

"WHAT!"

He flew them closer as the second wave hit them. "HANG ON!" Everyone grabbed something, as they slid down into the dark hole.

An explosion rocked the ship sending it barreling upwards and out of the hole at a terrific speed. Sora punched the engines and gave it the extra boost it needed to clear the black hole.

"You did it Sora!" Kairi hugged him.

Riku clapped his friend on the back, "I never appreciated your flying skills, until now!"

"Oh, thanks…"

Mickey laughed, "Good thinking Sora! But, the ship was damaged; we need to find somewhere to repair it."

"Maybe we could tag along with them." Goofy pointed out the window. Next to the Gummi Ship, they could see another ship. This one looked like a spaced-out version on a ship you'd see at Port Royal with the name "R.S Legacy" painted on the side.

"I'll hail them." Aqua turned to a screen and typed out a message; a moment later she turned back to them, "The captain wants us to pull up next to their ship. The crew will pull us in so we can make repairs."

"Gotcha." Sora slowly flew the ship sideways as clamps came from the other ship, pulling them in.

The moment the clamps secured them, they stepped onto the deck of the R.S. Legacy, staring into the faces of alien creatures. The strange sailors parted and allowed a lone figure to approach.

"Hello," the figure, a catlike female dressed in uniform, addressed them. "I'm Captain Amelia. Now, who might you be?"

"My name's Mickey; these two fellas are Donald and Goofy."

Aqua stepped up, bowing her head politely, "I'm Aqua; the one you spoke to. This is Ven, Riku, Sora, Kairi, and Lea."

The captain looked them over, nodding slightly. "Welcome aboard. Now I understand that your vessel is damaged."

"Yes ma'am," Riku nodded.

"Well then, you're welcome to remain here until your repairs are complete. I trust that some members of your party will be able to make the needed repairs."

The King nodded, "Yes Captain Amelia; Riku and I can repair the ship easily. And, to repay you for helping us the rest of us will help around the ship."

"Why thank you, Mickey," the Captain smiled, "You may go on and begin your repairs; I'll assign the others to their duties." Riku and the King went back to the ship to begin working. "Now, are any of you familiar crewing a ship like this?" Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ven raised their hands. "Good, then you four will help man the sails. Since my First Officer is no longer with us, I could use someone to assist me there. Miss Aqua, you look like a responsible young woman, so you will come with me. Lea, you will assist with maintaining the engines of this vessel. Lastly, Miss Kairi, I would like you… hmm. First, are there any of the gentlemen who would be willing to accompany Miss Kairi in the galley?" Sora's hand shot up. "Very well then, you two shall work in the galley with our cook, Mr. Silver and our cabin boy, Mr. Hawkins. Now, get about your duties!"

The group split, going to their separate stations. Aqua followed Captain Amelia to the prow of the ship, pausing as she felt Jiminy leap over to her shoulder, curious about the captain and their voyage. "Thank you, Captain."

"Captain! What is that other ship doing?" A dog-like man approached, looking Aqua over nervously.

"Dr. Doppler," the Captain said, "Their ship was damaged in the black hole, so they are making repairs. This is Aqua; Aqua, this is the financier of our voyage, Dr. Doppler."

The blue-haired girl shook his furry hand, "It's nice to meet you, Doctor." She turned to the Captain. "I was wondering… it may not be my place, but what is the purpose of your voyage?"

Amelia looked stared out into the darkness of space. "Exploration. We are looking for a far-off star that is rumored to exist, but has never been proven to."

"I see," Aqua could easily tell that the woman was hiding something, but she didn't press further.

* * *

Sora and Kairi walked down towards the galley, taking in the sight of the ship. "It's a beautiful boat!"

Sora smiled as he could see the joy in Kairi's eyes once more. "It sure is," They walked down towards the galley, but a figure dropped down in front of them. Sora looked up at the large, red and black, spider-like figure, in front of them.

The creature snarled at the two teens, his large glowing yellow eyes glinting savagely. "What's this." his gravelly voice hissed, "A new cabin boy and… oh, look." His eyes fixed on the girl. "A pretty little scullery maid…"

The boy growled, "Don't you ever call her that again!"

"And what are you going to do about it?" One of his pinchers picked up Sora by his collar, while the other got a firm grip on Kairi's arm.

"Mr. Scroop!" A voice called out, "Don't you know the rules! No brawling!"

The spider seemed to sigh as he released the two and pushed past. "Kairi!" Sora took her arm, looking at the purple bruise on her arm. "Are you ok?"

"That thing has a good grip." She cast Cure on herself, the strange coloration fading away.

"Are you two ok?" A different voice asked. The two turned to see a boy about their age and a cyborg.

"We're fine…" Sora led Kairi to a table.

The cyborg lumbered over to them," Let me have a look at that…"

"It's alright," the crimson sighed.

"It's no trouble lass!" He gently, but swiftly grabbed her arm, looking at it. "Well, your arm looks perfectly fine."

The Princess giggled. "Thank you anyways."

"So, I guess you're Mr. Silver," Sora smiled at the Cyborg.

"That's right, and this here is Jim Hawkins."

"It's nice to meet both of you!" Kairi gave them a soft smile. "And, thank you both for helping us with that spider psycho."

Jim smiled back, "No problem at all; I had a run-in with him as well. So, who are you guys?"

"My name's Sora and this is Kairi."

Silver looked at Sora, "Sora, didn't your pap ever teach you to pick your fights more carefully?"

The boy laughed. "I could've taken him! Both Kairi and I fight things bigger and stronger than him daily! He just surprised us, that's all."

"I bet!" Jim laughed. "So… you guys hungry?"

"Yeah!"

"Perfect!" Silver lumbered over to a pot and dished four bowls of something. He brought it over with four spoons. "Here, now, have a taste of me famous bonzabeast stew."

"Thanks" Sora lifted up his spoonful of stew as the others began eating. Suddenly his changed shape and seemed to eat the stew right out of the spoon. "What the!?" The 'spoon' turned pink and blobby as a mouth and two big eyes appeared. It floated out of Sora's hand and they could now see it as a pink floating blob with two big, cute eyes.

"Morph! You jiggle-headed blob of mischief!" Silver playfully chided, "So that's where you was hiding!" Morph, well, morphed into a straw and drank up all of Sora's stew.

"Aww! He's so cute!" Morph flew up, in his pink form, and nuzzled Kairi kindly.

"What is it?"

Suddenly, Morph changed into a mini Sora and repeated, "What is it?"

"He's a morph. I rescued the little shapeshifter on Proteus 1." The blob turned back and nuzzled Silver lovingly, "Aw, he took a shine to me. We have been together ever since."

"Well, he's adorable!" Kairi took the little creature in his hands.

The cyborg looked at the three young humans. "Well, the Cap'n will have me head if you three ain't busy." The cook laughed at Sora's annoyed expression. "Don't worry lad, I won't work you and your little lass too hard. Now then, that supernova damaged our ship; you lads can clear the deck and then you'll swab it!"

"Fine..." Sora and Jim sighed.

"Now, lassie, we have a wonderfully large pile of filthy dishes that I'm sure you can handle; and don't worry about Scroop or any other riff-raff around. Morphy, I'm sure these two pups can handle themselves, so stay here and watch this little kitten. If there's any trouble let me know. Now get to work you three!" He lumbered off with the three splitting off to do their tasks.

* * *

Kairi scrubbed on the pots. She kept up smiles when meeting Silver and Jim, but now that she sat alone, all her emotions piled up. So, she took them out on the dirty dishes.

"Ya know," Silver lumbered into the room, "Those dishes didn't do anything to you."

"Oh, sorry." The girl eased up on her scrubbing.

She looked up as the cyborg slumped down on a bucket in front of her. "Ya know, I seen that look before, lass. That's the look of a broken heart. Now, you have only been here a short time, but I can tell that Sora wouldn't be the one to do that to ya."

"You're right. It wasn't him. It was someone else…" She began scrubbing harder. "I just got back something I lost, only to have it torn away from me and shattered."

"Oy, you and Jimbo… this is the second time tonight." Silver chuckled.

"Huh?"

The cyborg took a dirty clay bowl from the pile. "Lass, do you know how bowls like this are made?"

"No."

"Well," He held the bowl, "These are all made by hand. Made perfectly, and beautifully after long hours of work. But look, sometimes, they crack." He ran a finger along a jagged crack in the clay. "Well, when this happens, the potter can't just patch it and go along, no, he's got to remold it and then put it back in the fire. That makes it stronger." He smiled, though Kairi seemed confused. "Life is like a clay bowl. It seems nice and perfect, but sometimes it cracks and bad things happen. When life does that, all you can do is pick up the pieces and start again, but that don't make it easy. You've still got to put it in the fire, and the fire isn't fun, but it makes you stronger in the end."(1) The girl's eyes lit up as he finished. He picked up another bowl, a pretty one, banded with color and handed it to her. "You're in that fire now it seems. Don't worry, it'll turn out alright."

"Thank you…"

Silver coughed. "Well, I think that's enough dishes for tonight. Go join Sora and the others for some rest."

"Alright." She held the bowl in her hands. "Um, may I keep this?"

"Sure, sure…"

* * *

"Sora, you sure you don't mind helping me with these dishes?"

"I don't mind at all!" The young couple sat alone in the kitchen. Nearly everyone else still laid in bed, but they decided to get up and work on finishing the dishes together.

As they sat in the galley cleaning, Morph flew in and hid in a barrel of fruit called purps. Seconds later, Jim hopped down the stairs trying to put on one of his boots. He looked at the two, and they silently pointed to the purp barrel. The cabin boy smirked and approached as he looked in, he grinned, "Ha! Busted!"

The other two giggled as they heard the playful scuffle inside the barrel, but deeper voices coming towards the galley overshadowed that. "Quick, Kairi, hide!" Sora pulled Kairi behind the counter, ducking down as nearly all the crew members came into the galley, all with stern, dangerous faces.

"Look, what we're saying is we're sick of all this waiting."

"There's only a few of them left, and most are just tagging along."

"We are wanting to move."

Kairi froze as she heard Silver's voice. "We don't move till we got the treasure in hand."

"I say we kill 'em all now," Scroop's raspy voice hissed out.

"I say what's to say! Disobey my orders again like that stunt you pulled with Mr. Arrow, and so help me, you'll be joining him!" The cyborg threw the spider against the purp barrel where Jim and Morph hid.

"Silver… he's behind this?"

The spider pirate snarled. "Strong talk, but I know otherwise." He stuck a claw into the barrel with Jim.

"You got something to say, Scroop.?"

"It's that boy and that new girl," he pulled out a purp and smirked, "Methinks you have a soft spot for them." His claw poked a soft spot in the purp.

All the pirates eyed the cyborg suspiciously, "Yeah…"

"Now, mark me, the lot of ya." Silver was angry. "I care about one thing, and one thing only! Flint's trove. You think I'd risk it all for the sake of some nose-wiping little whelps?"

Kairi covered her mouth as she gasped. The conversation from the night before filling her mind. "No…"

"What was is now?" Scroop mocked, "'Oh, you got the makings of greatness in ya.' Oh, and I can't forget 'You're in that fire now it seems. Don't worry it'll turn out alright'."

"SHUT YOUR YAP! I cozied up to them kids to keep them off our scent. But I ain't gone soft."

"LAND HO!" The lookout's cry cut through their bickering. The pirates cheered and dashed outside.

Once the coast was clear, the two Destiny Islanders came out. Sora clenched his fists, "That rotten little…" He noticed the expressions of Kairi and Jim. "Guys… I'm sorry."

"…We gotta tell the Captain!" The three ran towards the stairs, but Silver suddenly appeared above them.

"Jimbo, Sora, Kairi?" He looked surprised. Slowly, the three backed up as he came down the stairs towards them. "Playing games, are we?"

"Yeah," Jim seethed, "Yeah, we're playing games…"

Silver put a hand behind his back, making the three tense up more. "Oh, I see. Well, I was never much good at games. Always hated to lose…"

"Hmm…" Sora summoned his Keyblade and struck Silver in the mechanical leg as the three teens ran out, "Us too!" The cyborg screamed in pain and a hissing sound filled the air.

They ran down the deck and into the Captain's stateroom, slamming and locking the door behind them. "What's going on?" They turned and saw that Amelia, Doppler, Aqua, Mickey, Riku, and Lea.

Sora gasped for air, "Long story short, Captain, everybody except for me, my friends, Jim, you, and Doppler are pirates and are taking over the ship!"

Amelia went to her cabinet and opened it, grabbing a gun, "Pirates on my ship? I'll see they all hang." She tossed the doctor a gun. "Doctor, familiar with these?"

"Oh, I've seen…" he held it away from him nervously, "Well, I've read…" The gun went off and blasted a nearby globe. "Uh, no. No. No. I'm not."

The door began to spark as the pirates tried to break through. Amelia rolled her eyes and tossed a strange golden sphere to Jim; Morph eyed the round object. "Mr. Hawkins! Defend this with your life."

Morph grabbed it in his mouth midair. "Morph! Give me that!"

"What is that?"

"That," Amelia looked at Lea, "Is a treasure map to the greatest treasure in the galaxy, and it is the reason for our voyage."

Aqua nodded. "So, that's the real purpose."

"Oh no!" Kairi gasped, "What about Ven, Donald, and Goofy!?"

"We have to help them!"

"I'm sorry," Amelia stated, "They'll have to get out on their own, if we try and help them, we'll die."

Jim looked around frantically, "How are we supposed to get out of here?"

"Like this!" Riku fired a Dark Firza spell at the floor, blowing a hole down to the lower deck. "Let's move!" The group jumped down and ran along the lower decks; they could hear the pirates behind them. They ran into the longboat hanger and slammed the door shut as the pirates drew near.

"To the longboats, quickly!" Mickey melted the lock shut with a Firza spell.

Amelia opened the hatch below the boat as the others clambered in. The hatch opened slowly, so all they could do was watch as the pirates began cutting the door away.

Suddenly Morph grabbed the map from Jim's pocket. "Morph! No!" He and Sora chased the pink blob around the room, trying to get the map back. The door burst open and the pirates spilled in.

Amelia began shooting at them, while the Keybladers fired strong fire spells at them. "Chew on this, you pus-filled boils!"

Doppler pointed his gun and fired, hitting a metal piece that fell down, cracking the walkway, and making a large portion of the pirates fall to the planet's surface below. Lea raised an eyebrow, "Did you actually aim for that?"

"You know, actually, I did!"

Everyone ducked as the pirates shot at them. A creaking sound started as Silver entered the room, going to the door controls, making the longboat bay doors closed. If they shut, the group would be trapped inside with the pirates.

"Oh, blast it!" The Captain looked at Aqua, "Aqua when I say 'now', shoot out the forward cable. I'll take this one."

Silver's eyes turned to Sora and Jim, still chasing Morph. "Morph, here! Morph!"

"Morph!" The pirate called to his pet. "Morphy, come here."

"Morph. Morph. Bring it here."

Sora smiled at the creature, "Morph, come here."

"Come here. Come here, boy," the cyborg persisted, "Come to your dad."

"Come here, boy. Morph!"

"Come on!"

"Morph! Morph, here!"

"Morphy!"

"Morph!" The little creature looked between them. Instead of picking, it dove down into a tangle of rope.

Silver stumbled forward, leg still damaged from Sora's blow in the galley. He came close, but Jim reached the ropes first and pulled out the map. As the boys began to run, Kairi watched a Silver powered up his gun to shoot the boys. She was about to cry out when she saw him lower his gun. He couldn't' do it.

The two jumped into the longboat. "NOW!" Aqua and Amelia shot out the cables, causing the boat to fall through the partially closed hatch. As they plummeted downward, Amelia opened the solar sail and started up the engine. "Parameters met. Hydraulics engaged." The engines roared and they flew away.

Mickey looked back to the ship. "Look!" Three figures dove from the topmast. Underneath them, in a flash of light, appeared Ven's Keyblade glider. "They made it!

As the glider flew by, Ven turned back and saw the ship's cannon firing directly at them. "Captain! Laser ball at 12 o'clock!"

The cat-like female turned the rudder, but the blast hit them, rocking everyone in the boat.

The group in the boat held on as they continued to plummet. They hit mushroom-like trees as they went downwards The boat hit the ground and flipped over, sliding a bit, before coming to a complete stop.

Ven dismissed his glider; He, Donald, and Goofy ran to them and turned the boat over.

"Ow…" Everyone still lived.

"Oh, my goodness." Dr. Doppler breathed a sigh of relief, "That was more fun than I ever want to have again."

Lea rubbed his head. "Sadly, for us, there's probably going to be more moments like this…"

"Can't wait." Riku's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Amelia chuckled as she stood. "That's not one of my gossamer landings. Unh!" She clutched her side and collapsed to her knees.

"Captain!"

"Oh. Ooh." Jim and Doppler helped her to her feet. "Oh, don't fuss. Uh-uh…" she almost fell over again, "Slight bruising. That's all. Cup of tea, and I'll be right as rain." Amelia turned to Doppler, "Mr. Hawkins…" Her cat-eyes squinted and then turned to the right person. "The map if you please."

Jim reached into his back pocket and pulled out the sphere. He smiled but his expression changed to shock as the orb floated into the air. It began to change and shifted into Morph. "Morph?!" Kairi caught the blob in her hands, "Where's the map?"

He turned into a pile of rope and the map; he showed the map going into the rope. Riku face-palmed, "Are you serious?! It's back on the ship?" Morph flew over and hid in Kairi's pocket as Jim and Riku tried to kill the tiny creature.

"Stifle that blob and get low." Amelia whispered, "We've got company." They could see another longboat, full of pirates, coming their way. They ducked down behind the boat. "We need a more defensible position. Mr. Hawkins, Sora, Riku," Captain Amelia handed the cabin boy a gun, "scout ahead."

"Aye, Captain."

"Unh!" Amelia fell over; Lea and Doppler caught her.

"Steady, steady." They laid her down, "Now, let's have a look at that."

The three boys walked down into the forest, climbing down into a dark valley. Around them, hundreds of bulges stuck up from the ground, coming up to their knees. The mushroom trees grew close and closed them in.

"Hey, Riku… do you get the feeling that…"

"We're being watched? Yeah, I feel it."

"I do too," Jim whispered. They turned around and saw some reeds moving as if something had been there before. "Shh. Shh."

Jim powered up his pistol while the Keybladers summoned their swords. They approached slowly. Out of nowhere, a metal figure appeared in front of them. "Aah!"

"Aah!"

The figure tackled Jim. Now they could see it: a rusty moss-covered robot with part of the back of its head missing. "OH! This is fantastic!" the robot cheered, "Carbon-based life forms come to rescue me at last!" As Jim tried to get up, the robot grabbed him. "I just want to hug you and squeeze you and hold you close to me."

"All right…ok…" Riku raised an eyebrow. "Would you let go of him?"

"What Riku said!" Jim shoved the robot off.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry. It's just, I've been marooned for so long. I mean, solitude's fine. Don't get me wrong. For heaven's sakes, after a hundred years… YOU GO A LITTLE NUTS! Ha, ha, ha!"

Riku and Sora glanced at each other. "Yeah, nuts…"

"I'm sorry. Am I, I am, uh… My name is, uh…"

Morph, on Jim's shoulder, turned into a mini version of the robot with a bird popping in and out of his head; a cuckoo sound came from him. Jim closed the Morph/robot's head.

"B.E.N! Of course, I'm B.E.N. Bioelectronic Navigator." He hit the compass and it popped out, "Oops. And you are?"

"Jim."

"Oh, what a pleasure to meet you, Jimmy."

"It's Jim."

"Anyway… who are you two?"

"Sora."

"Riku."

B.E.N. leaned on Jim as he picked up his pistol. "Look, we're kind of in a hurry, OK? We got to find a place to hide, and there are pirates chasing us."

"Oh, pirates! Don't get me started on pirates!" B.E.N. melodramatically said. "I don't like them. I remember Captain Flint." This caught Jim's attention. "This guy had such a temper."

"Hold on!" He grabbed the robot's shoulder, "You knew Captain Flint?"

B.E.N. sat down, rambling on, "I think he suffered from mood swings, personally. I'm not a therapist, and anyway but I… you let me know when I'm rambling."

"You're rambling…"

Jim though aloud, "But that means… but wait! But then you gotta know about the treasure?"

"Treasure?"

"Yeah," Jim insisted, "Flint's trove?"

"You know, loot of a thousand worlds."

B.E.N. began to think hard. "It's… well, it's, it's all a little… little… little fuzzy. Wait. I…I r…r…remember." The robot began to spazz out. "I do. I… treasure! Lots of treasure buried in the centriod…centroid… centroid of the mechanism. And there was this big door opening and closing and opening and closing and Captain Flint wanted to make sure nobody could ever get to his treasure so I helped him…" The open area of his head began sparking, sending B.E.N. into a spasm. "Aah! Data inaccessible! REBOOT! REBOOT! REBOOT!"

"B.E.N.?"

"B.E.N.?"

"B.E.N.?" Riku slapped the robot, making him calm down.

"And you are?"

"Wait, wait, wait! What about the treasure?"

B.E.N. smiled, "I wanna say Larry, Haley, and David."(2)

The… the centroid of the mechanism, or…" Jim yelled spastically.

"I'm sorry," the robot apologized, "My memory isn't what it used to be. I've lost my mind. Haha! I've lost my mind."

"Ya think?" Riku raised an eyebrow.

He began patting their pockets. "You haven't found it, have you? Uh, my missing piece? My primary memory circuit?" He pointed to the open area on his back.

"Look, B.E.N.," Sora sighed, "We really need to find a place to hide, OK? So we're just gonna be, you know, moving on."

The robot seemed sad, "Oh, uh, so, well, then… I guess, uh… this is goodbye, huh? I'm sorry that I'm so dysfunctional." Sora regretted wanting to leave, as did Jim and Riku. "So, uh, go ahead and… I do understand. I do. Bye-bye."

Jim looked over at the Keybladers and Morph before sighing, "Look, if you're gonna come along you're gonna have to stop talking."

"Huzzah! Ha, ha, ha!" B.E.N. leapt into the air, "Oh, this is fantastic!" He jumped into Jim's arms. "Me and my best buddies are lookin' for a…" Jim and Riku glared at him while Sora just snickered to himself. "Being quiet…" the robot literally zipped his lips.

"And you have to stop touching me."

"Touching and talking. That's my two big no-nos."

Riku rolled his eyes, "Ok, so I think we should…"

"Say, listen," B.E.N. looked constipated, "before we go out on our big search, um, would you mind if we made a quick pit stop at my place?" He pushed some reeds to the side and they saw a large mound with a large cave in it. "Kind of urgent."

"B.E.N.," Sora smiled, "I think you just solved our problem."

* * *

Ansem the Wise looked over another set of notes before sighing and placing them into a box. He looked over at Sasuke, who stood watching. "Yes, Sasuke?"

"Are you sure you shouldn't put this off, after what happened?"

"No," the older man rubbed his eyes. "I feel even more that I have to do it now…" He looked at Sasuke. "I-I am so sorry about your master and your father, Sasuke."(3)

The young captain leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. "I just can't believe Xehanort would do this. Why? Why did this have to happen?"

"Probably to spite me," Ansem sat down, looking at the photo on his desk of Rimi. "I loved Rimi as though she were my own daughter, I trusted Kaname with her life and Yamato… he was very dear to our family. He died, saving me, and he saved my brother, his wife, and Rimi. They respected him so much that they even made him Rimi's godfather(4)."

"I-I didn't know…"

The old ruler grabbed the box from the floor, setting it on his desk. "He was a great friend and a loyal guard. We were so happy when he found a wife and child… a family of his own. Then he lost it, all in one night; sometime… sometimes I wish that I had been the one to die that night instead of him."

"Don't say things like that," Sasuke spoke quickly. "The kingdom needed you, and Rimi needed you."

"I know…"

Sasuke slid down the wall until he sat on the ground. "You know, I always dreamed of seeing my father, but not like this, never like this. Xehanort has made puppets out of three of the best people in all the worlds."

"Yes. Which leads me to ask you something. I know that you're expecting Sora and his friends to take care of them, but should those three come here again, what are you going to do… Captain?"

"I-I don't know." The young man admitted. "I know for a fact that none of them want to hurt this place or its people, let alone be used for an evil purpose. I-I hate to say it, but they would want us to… eliminate them."

"Can you do that?"

Sasuke looked up at the old man. "I don't know… but I will be leaving Master Kaname to Sora. Even if the master can't really do anything for this, Sora needs to prove himself to Kairi's father; it's his right, to show that he can care for her, and to show that he is worthy of Dawn's Might. I will probably deal with my father; I don't know if I'll have it in me to strike him down, and even if he can't hear me, I have things to say and to show him. I want him to see how strong I've become. As for Rimi… I'd hate for anyone to have to do it. If it comes down to it, I will ask Lea. I don't want Kairi to have to strike down her own mother."

Ansem nodded, smiling slightly. "Thank you…" He stood, picking up the box of paperwork. "I will not be gone long, but I am leaving the jurisdiction of our world to you. And, if you really need me, send someone. Twilight Town is not that far from here."

"Yes, sir." The captain stood. "Um, one more thing. What did you mean when you said you felt like you had to do this now?"

"Sasuke, I have done many things wrong in my life, some that I cannot fix, but many that I know would make my dear Rimi ashamed of me. Now, I am going to do what I can to undo some of the hurt that I have done. I cannot let Rimi go away again ashamed of me. I will right my wrongs and make her proud of me once again…"

* * *

 **Please Review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), Instagram (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This is something I got from one of my dad's sermons, but I tweaked it for this part.

(2) References to Sora and Riku's VAs.

(3) Another scene courtesy of Yami!

(4) Check out Yami's story "Moons of Fate" for more on this. 

* * *

**Fired**

The pottery story in this chapter is something I got from one of my dad's sermons, where he talks about that.

The verses come from Jeremiah 18: 1-6, " _The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:_ _ **2**_ " _Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words."_ _ **3**_ _So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel._ _ **4**_ _And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do._

 _ **5**_ _Then the word of the Lord came to me:_ _ **6**_ " _O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel._ "

We are in the hands of God, we are his masterpiece, but sometimes, we mess up, we break and crack, and so he has to fix us. He has to press and mold us back, and then like the pot once it is ready, it must be hardened in the fire. Pressing and molding probably wouldn't be painless, and the fire isn't either.

We all know that when we mess up, consequences happen. Those consequences and even the painful times in our lives, sometimes are God molding and shaping us into what he has in store for us. It may not be the most pleasant experience at the time, but being forged in the fire makes you come out stronger than ever.


	23. Chapter 23: Legacy Space-Treasure Plane

**Here's the next chapter!**

 **Thank you** **moonrose221** **,** **moesyslak77** **,** **timbo8** **, and** **gothbadgirl** **for following and/or favoriting!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Treasure Planet © to Disney!**

* * *

 **Chapter 23: Legacy Space- Treasure Planet**

* * *

The entire group looked around .'s home as they entered. "Uh, pardon the mess, people. You'd think in a hundred years I would've dusted a little more often but, you know, when you're batchin' it you tend to, uh, let things go." Doppler carried a wounded Amelia and laid her down against a low dome in the floor. "Aw, isn't that sweet? I found old-fashioned romance so touching don't you? How about drinks for the happy couple?" The robot brought out two oily drinks.

"Oh, uh, ooh. Uh, no." Doppler stammered. "Thank you, we don't drink and, uh, we're not a couple." Amelia smiled at him.

"Why didn't you heal her?" Sora and Riku looked at their friends.

Aqua rolled her shoulder, "We couldn't; we may be able to summon our weapons, but we can't use any magic on this planet."

"What about potions?"

"They all broke when we crashed."

Doppler looked around the room, studying the strange patterns on the walls, "Look at these markings. They're identical to the ones on the map. I suspect these are the hieroglyphic remnants of an ancient culture."

"Mr. Hawkins," Amelia looked at the boy, "stop anyone who tries to approach. Ohh!" She clutched her side.

"Yes, yes. Now listen to me stop giving orders for a few milliseconds and lie still." The doctor told her harshly.

"Very forceful, Doctor. Go on say something else."

Lea leaned over to Ventus and whispered, "Maybe we should leave them alone."

"Hey look!" B.E.N. yelled, "There's some more of your buddies!" He stood at the entrance and yelled down, waving his arms. "There's some more of your buddies! Hey, fellas! We're over here, fellas!"

Jim pulled the robot down as the pirates below shot at them.

"Hello, up there!"

Sora snarled, "Silver!" He, Kairi, and Jim peaked over the entrance and saw someone waving a white flag. "Jimbo? Kairi?" The cyborg climbed up into view. "If it's all right with the captain I'd like a short word with ya. No tricks, just a little palaver."

"Come to bargain for the map, doubtless. Pestilential…"

"Captain."

"That means," the redhead smirked, "that he thinks we still have it."

"Jim, let's go." Kairi moved to get up.

A hand grabbed hers. "Be careful…"

"I will be."

She and Jim hopped down and approached the pirate. Morph flew up to the cyborg. "Ah, Morphy! I wondered where you was off to." The pirate sat on a hump; his mechanical arm extending to become a crutch for his injured leg. He massaged his leg. "Oh, this poor old leg's downright snarky since that game attack we had in the galley." The two glared at him. "Ahh. Whatever you heard back there, especially you Jimbo, at least the part concerning you… I didn't mean a word of it. Had that bloodthirsty lot though I'd gone soft they'd have gutted the three of us." Jim's gaze held. "Listen to me, if we play our cards right the three of us can walk away from this rich as kings."

"Yeah?"

"Ha, ha, ha. Kairi, you can get something for yourself or talk that sweet lover of yours into getting you something. You get me that map and, uh… an even portion of the treasure is yours." The cyborg chuckled and held out both his hands for the two to take.

"Boy…" Jim shook his head, as did Kairi. "You are really something. All that talk of greatness light coming off my sails… what a joke."

"At least the lesson you gave me was something." Kairi huffed. "But that fire you spoke of, you just added more fuel to it."

Silver's face fell as they talked. "Now, just see here…"

"At least you taught me one thing," Jim snarled, "stick to it, right? Well, that's just what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna make sure that you never see one drabloon of my treasure!"

"That treasure is owed me, by thunder!"

"Well, try to find it without my map, by thunder!"

Silver's scowl deepened, "Oh, you still don't know how to pick your fights, do you, boy? Now, mark me. Either I get that map by dawn tomorrow or so help me, I'll use the ship's cannons to blast ya all to kingdom come!" He turned his back to them. "Morph, hop to it." The pink blob squeaked in fear. "NOW!" Morph hid in Kairi's pockets as the two glared at Silver. "Oh, blast it!" He hobbled down to his crew as Kairi and Jim went back to B.E.N.'s home.

* * *

The sky darkened, and the group sat around. Sora walked over to Aqua and Ven who sat in the back, quietly conversing together. "Hey, how are you two doing?"

"Alright."

"Look, I know the whole thing with Terra was…"

Ven held up a hand. "Look, we're actually doing alright. At least we know he's alive. If he's like Lea's friend, Isa, then we can help him… at least, we will do almost anything to help him."

Sora smiled. "Yeah. Somehow, we'll save him, Isa, Sasuke's father, and Kairi's parents. But first, we have to get out of here."

Jim sat near the entrance to the cave, staring down at the pirate's camp, thinking over this very thing. "Without the map, we're dead. If we try to leave, we're dead. If we stay here…"

"We're dead!" Morph piped up. "We're dead! We're dead!"

B.E.N. sighed, "Well, I think that Jimmy could use a little 'quiet time'. Heh. So I'll just slip out the back door."

Everyone's head rose, "Back door?"

"Oh, yea." They ran over to B.E.N. who rolled back a dome, opening an entrance to the inside of the planet. "I get this delightful breeze through here which I think is important because ventilation among friends…"

They looked down and saw machinery that ran down for miles. "Whoa," Ventus gasped, "What is all this stuff?"

"You mean the miles and miles of machinery that run through the entire course of the inside of this planet? Not a clue."

"Hey, Doc! Doc!" Jim stood up on the edge of the hole, "I think I found a way out of here!"

Sora turned to Kairi to say something, but the Princess of Heart put a finger over his lips. "I don't want to hear it, Sora! If you're going, then so am I."

"You're never gonna let me go anywhere without you…"

"You know it."

Doppler cried after the three, "No, no. Jim, Kairi, Sora, wait. The Captain ordered us to stay…"

"We'll be back." Jim jumped down followed by Sora and Kairi, holding hands.

B.E.N. jumped after them with a loud cry, "Cannonball!"

* * *

The three humans, Morph, and B.E.N. traveled along the walkways under the surface. Soon they came up to a hatch; the five went up and peaked out, directly beside the pirate's camp as they slept soundly.

B.E.N. popped out with a loud voice, "So, what's the plan?"

Sora clamped the bot's mouth shut, "Shh. B.E.N., quiet." They watched the pirates, but none stirred.

Jim whispered, "Ok, here it is. We sneak back to the Legacy, disable the laser cannons and bring back the map."

"Nice plan," Kairi whispered back, "But how are we gonna get up there?"

He pointed towards the longboat tied nearby. "On that."

* * *

They moved towards the ship slowly, darkness and silence covering the ship. They pulled up beside it. All five of them looked over the edge of the boat; they climbed over the side, but B.E.N. fell over with a clatter.

"Aah!"

"B.E.N... Shh!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry."

They slunk along the deck, looking around for any sign of trouble before going below deck. Sora turned to the robot in their company. "Ok, we'll get the map. You wait here."

"Roger. I'll neutralize laser cannons, sir!" The robot rolled down the hall singing, " _Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate's life for me_."

"B.E.N.!" Kairi reached after him, "B.E.N.!"

"That idiot!"

Slowly the group went downstairs to the longboat hanger and to the pile of rope where Morph hid the map. Jim grinned as he pulled the golden orb from the woven coils. "Yes!"

Suddenly alarms blared around them. "Stupid robot!"

The three ran towards the stairs. "That stupid robot's gonna get us all…killed."

At the top of the stairs stood a familiar, spider-like figure. "Scroop!"

"Cabin boys… and the scullery maid." The group turned, running off down the hall; the spider following close behind.

Now that they were above the planet, spells worked. Kairi turned around and blasted him with a Blizardza spell. "Eat this, spider psycho!"

Morph turned into a pie and splattered the spider's face. Scroop snarled and tore the creature from his face, throwing him into a pipe that sucked him up. The three teens jumped behind a wall. Jim breathed deeply and jumped out, gun pointed at the spider. Suddenly, the lights turned off. Kairi inwardly growled, "B.E.N. is going to get it later!"

The lights snapped back on, and Scroop was nowhere to be seen. As they looked for him, Kairi felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She looked up, seeing the spider above them. "Look out!"

Scroop dropped, pinning them to the ground. Just after they hit the floor, a rumble shuddered through the ship, and the gravity seemed to vanish. "Jim! What's going on!?"

"That robot must've turned off the artificial gravity!" They floated upwards and through a netting, into the open.

As they rose above the deck, Sora yelled out, "Graviza!" The spell caught him and Kairi, their feet going down to rest on the ground. "Jim!" The boy and Scroop kept going upwards.

Scroop managed to grab onto the mast, but Jim continued to fly away. The spider took a snap at Jim as he floated past. The boy floated higher and higher, and before he flew away, but he managed to grab the flag.

"JIM! LOOK OUT!"

Scroop climbed up the mast toward Jim, a sickening smile on his face. Jim attempted to grab his pistol as it floated past, but his fingers knocked it further away. "Come on, come on, come on. No!"

"Oh, yes," Scroop chuckled as he slowly cut the flag away from the mast. "Do say hello to Mr. Arrow." Jim climbed down the flag swiftly and clutched the mast. Scroop snarled and leapt at him.

Jim pushed away from the mast and shoved Scroop into the flag. The partially cut rope snapping. "Tell him yourself!"

Scroop ripped through the flag and screamed as he floated away into space, never to be seen again.

Suddenly the gravity turned back on. "I'm gonna kill that robot!"

B.E.N. clambered up from below, completely tangled in wires. "Laser cannons disconnected Captain Jimmy, sir! Gee, that wasn't so tough."

* * *

Jim came up out of the hole back into B.E.N.'s home, followed by Morph, B.E.N., and Sora, who helped Kairi up. Dawn had just begun to break, and stillness hung in the air.

The cabin boy ran to where the doctor and Amelia had been. "Doc! Doc, wake up! I got the map."

"Fine work, Jimbo." A metal hand grabbed the map, as Silver sat up, "Fine work indeed."

Pirates leapt from the shadows, grabbing Sora and Kairi from behind; the two found their arms bound behind them as the pirates shoved them to their knees. Nearby, at gunpoint sat Doppler and Amelia.

"Where are our friends?"

Silver came over and lifted Kairi's chin upwards towards him. "Well, kitten, they're preoccupied at this moment with a little friend of mine."

"So that's it! You drew them away and then attacked!"

His robot eye glinted, "Yes, and thanks for showing us the way in."

Jim and B.E.N. struggled against the pirates that held them. Morph flew over to Kairi and hid in her pockets.

"You're just like me, you three. Ya hates to lose." He looked at the map, "Throw those two lovers out to the beast… then they can spend their last moments together." The pirates dragged the couple towards the entrance.

They could see their friends below fighting a group of strange Heartless with dark purple bodies, long and slender with long fingers, a long tail, a long head back, and mouths full of teeth(1).

Sora tried to call out but a gag covered his mouth, as well as Kairi's. "Don't want to distract them, now do we?"

The pirates put them back-to-back and tied their arms together. "Hey beasties!" A pirate called; the monsters turned and looked at them. "We got you a special treat!" With a heave, they shoved the two Keybladers out of the entrance and sent them tumbling down toward the Heartless.

The two skidded to a stop just above where they stood. "SORA! KAIRI!"

The Xeno Heartless roared and one of the creatures leapt up beside them, hoping to catch the two heroes. They rolled, dodging a strike from its claws. Once away, the Princess's right hand bent down and pushed up on her sleeve; with a tiny flick of her wrist, she felt the cold steel of a knife in her hand.

Sora suddenly felt a tiny piece of metal behind his back; he moved and it pricked him. He cried out under the gag. Kairi mumbled something that sounded like 'hold still'. She maneuvered the knife and cut the ropes around her wrists. With another slice, Sora's bonds fell off. They both ripped off the gags and jumped away as the monster attempted to stab them with its tail.

"Now, let's do this!"

They jumped down beside their friends and stood ready. "Great timing you two!"

"Shut up Lea!"

Nine of the Xeno Heartless remained, snarling as black saliva dripped from their fangs. "These things are gross!"

"Just take them down!"

The monsters jumped at them. Everyone dodged and slashed at them. It did not take them long to defeat the Xeno Heartless.

"Well," Mickey sighed, "That's over."

"We have to help the others! Silver has them!" Kairi yelled.

"And you as well…" They turned and saw Silver, the pirates, and their captives. "Now you little heroes will come with us, or…" The cyborg pointed a gun at Doppler. The group lowered their weapons.

* * *

The group rode longboat, their hands bound behind them. Even Jiminy found himself tied up. They followed a green light trail made by the map. Jim sat up front with Silver, Sora, and Kairi.

When they could go no further because of a dense plant-covering in their way. Silver got out of the longboat. "Jimbo, assist Sora in getting' out." Jim helped him get out of the boat safely. All but one of the pirates got out.

"What do we do about that kid? He's dangerous!"

"Well then," the cyborg smirked, "hand down his little lass. That'll keep him from causing problems."

"Kairi!" The remaining pirate grabbed her and threw her down. Riku and the others glared at them. "You really have no conscience do you, Silver?"

"Never needed one…"

Jim, B.E.N., Sora, and Kairi slowly walked along. Morph, still in Kairi's pocket, whimpered. "It's ok, Morph. It's ok." She smiled kindly down at the little creature.

"Jimmy," B.E.N. came up to the three, shuddering, "I…I don't know about you but I'm starting to see my life pass in front of my eyes. At least, I think it's my life. WAS I EVER DANCING WITH AN ANDROID NAMED LUPE?!"

"B.E.N., shh!"

Sora nodded, "This isn't over yet."

The green light trail began flashing faster. "We're getting' close, lads." Silver brought out his sword. "I smell treasure a-waitin'." He grabbed Jim and Sora's shirts, dragging them along as he began slicing through the plants obstructing their view.

"Huh?" The light trail ended at the edge of a cliff, nothing but open land in sight.

"Where is it?"

"I see nothing! One great, big stinking hunk of nothing!"

The green light went back into the map. "What's going on, Jimbo?"

"I don't know." He began frantically trying to open it again, "I can't get it open."

One of the pirated shoved him to the ground. "We should've never followed this boy!"

"Jim!" Sora yelled, but a hand pulled him back. He looked over at Kairi, who kept a strange calm, but strong expression. Then he noticed her messing with her sleeve under the ropes, slowly drawing a knife out of her sleeve. "Smart girl…"

"I suggest you get that gizmo going again, and fast!" Silver threatened.

"Let's rip his gizzard right out right now! The Keybearer's too!"

"Throw them off the cliff!" Jim didn't seem to notice their threats, his eyes studying something on the cliff-side.

He suddenly placed the map into a hole in the ground, a wave of energy surging out from it. A dome full of dots, lines, and shapes rose from the map on twelve beams of light. A rumbling noise filled the air. On the ground below the cliff, six energy beams flew towards them, coming together and streaking up before them. It spilt, making a triangle; through it, an image of space appeared.

"Oh, have mercy."

Jim recognized the place. "The Lagoon Nebula?"

"But that's halfway across the galaxy."

"A big door…" Jim's eyes widened, "opening and closing." He pressed a symbol on the dome and the door opened and closed again.

This time when it opened, they could see a calm beach and a familiar tiny island with a familiar tree. "Home… Kairi look! It's our home!"

"The Islands!" Both Keybearers gasped happily.

Jim changed the door again, revealing the mountains of Land of Dragons. "Let's see." The cabin boy looked at the dome, searching for one particular place. "Kinapis… Montressor spaceport." He pressed it and they could see a spaceport shaped like a crescent moon. "So that's how Flint did it! He used this portal to roam the universe stealing treasure." Jim began changing the door again; they saw Olympus Coliseum, Port Royal, and many other worlds.

"But where'd he stash it all?" Silver shoved the boy out of the way and began pushing the dome to random worlds: Devil's Bayou, Castle Oblivion, Traverse Town, Twilight Town, and even Radiant Garden. "Where's that blasted treasure?!"

B.E.N. began spazzing out again. "Treasure! Treasure! It's buried in the…"

"Buried in the centroid of the mechanism…" Sora remembered him saying that. "What if the whole planet is the mechanism and the treasure is buried in the center of this planet?"

"Sora, that's brilliant!" The pirate holding Kairi pushed her away and began digging frantically. One guy slammed down with a pickaxe but it broke on the first swing, making everyone stop.

"And how in blue blazes are we supposed to get there?"

Jim calmly went up to the pirate. "Just open the right door." He hit the little dot in the middle of a figure on the dome that resembled Treasure Planet.

The door flashed again, revealing an indoor room with many metal things hanging from the ceiling. Slowly Jim went through the door, followed by Silver and the others.

Sora glanced at Kairi and could see her put away the knife now that she cut her bonds, but she held them in place to give the appearance of being tied. The two walked after the pirates, staring in awe at the room overflowing with gold and jewels.

"The loot of a thousand worlds."

B.E.N. offlined his optics, struggling to think, "This is all seeming very familiar."

Kairi dropped the ropes and cut Sora loose before sliding the knife back into her sleeve. "Thanks…"

"I can't remember why." The robot continued.

Jim tapped their shoulders, "Guys, come on. We're getting out of here, and we're not leaving empty-handed." They followed him towards a downed boat.

B.E.N. continued to protest, but the young couple followed earnestly. "Kairi," Sora asked, "why do you have a knife in your sleeve?"

"You never know when you'll need one." She smirked.

He raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't seem like something you'd do. Where'd you get the idea from?"

"One of the worlds I visited with Lea and Riku…" She avoided the gaze of the boy.

"Kairi, I can tell something is wrong. If you don't want to tell me now then I'll ask you later."

They made it to the ship and climbed over the side. "Do you know what's strange?" B.E.N. continued to ramble on. "I can't tell you how frustrating this is, Jimmy 'cause there's something just… it's nagging at the back of my mind. AAH!" The robot flopped over the side

"Captain Flint?"

"In the flesh!" An alien skeleton with six eye sockets, and fangs sat in a chair on the ship's deck. A ragged black coat, red pants, red belt, brown hat, and leather boots clung to his bones

Sora grimaced, "Well, sort of, except for skin, organs, or anything that resembles flesh… that's not there."

The cabin boy approached slowly as B.E.N. continued to talk. "Yet it's so odd, you know? I remember there was something horrible Flint didn't want anyone else to know but I… I just can't remember what it was." Kairi pointed silently to the skeleton's hand. A piece of metal covered in wires and circuits curled in his fingers. Jim tore his boney fingers apart and pulled it out. "Oh, a mind is a terrible thing to lose!" B.E.N. turned around so they could see the missing piece of his head.

It matched perfectly with the piece that Jim now held. "B.E.N., I think we just found your mind. Hold still." Jim put the piece back; it attached back instantly.

"WHOA!" The robot blinked and his eyes became a light blue color. "Hello… You know, uh, Jimmy. I was just thinking. I was just think… It's all flooding back! All my memories! Right up until Flint pulled my memory circuits so I could never tell anybody about his booby trap!"

"WHAT!" The room began to shake and rumble.

"Speaking of which…" The things hanging above them began to explode and fall. "Flint wanted to make sure that nobody could ever steal his treasure so he rigged the whole planet to blow higher than a Kalepsian kite!"

As the things above fell, they cracked the orb covered in treasure, creating fissures in it; the gold and jewels began falling into the molten center. "Run, Jimmy! Run for your life!"

"You go back and help the captain and Doc!" Jim told the robot as he ran to a command console, "If I'm not there in five minutes. Leave without me."

B.E.N. protested, "I'm not leaving my buddy, Jimmy." He pulled the cabin boy out only to be met with a glare. "Unless he looks at me like that. Bye, Jim!"

"Hold on!" Sora grabbed him, "Get Kairi out too!"

"Sora! I won't…"

He wrapped B.E.N.'s fingers around her arm., "I won't argue with you now, go!" The robot pulled her away. "Jim, what do you need?"

* * *

The group heard noises like thunder as they sat in the longboat. Doppler sighed. "All my life, I dreamed on an adventure like this. I'm just sorry I couldn't have been more helpful to you."

"Oh, don't be daft." Captain Amelia smiled to him, "You've been very helpful, truly."

"I feel like such a useless weakling…" He pulled his hands up and put his face into them, somehow freed from his bonds. "With abnormally thin wrists." He quickly put his hands back behind his back. "Excuse me, brutish pirate." The fat alien guarding them burped and turned to the Doc. "Yes, you. I have a question. Is it that your body is too massive for your teeny-tiny head, or is it that your head is too teeny-tiny for your, big fat body?"

Lea, Ven, and Donald nearly choked trying not to laugh as the pirate lumbered over and grabbed Doppler by the collar. "I pummel you good!"

"Yes, I'm sure you will," the doctor replied timidly, pulling the pirate's gun from his belt as he slipped it behind him. "but before you do I have one more question." He pulled out the gun and stuck it in the pirate's stomach with a smirk. "Is this yours?"

"Uh…"

* * *

Jim and Sora grinned as the ship's engine finally started as the craft began to rise and move. "Yes! Morph, Sora, we are so out of here!"

"Ah, boys!" They turned to see Silver climbing over the side. "Aren't you both the seventh wonder of the universe?"

Sora summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the cyborg. "Get back!"

"I like you, lads, but I've come too far to let you stand between me and me treasure." He continued to approach, looking prepared to kill both of them.

Out of nowhere, a laser hit the side of the ship, throwing the two boys and the cyborg off. Silver managed to keep a grip on the boat as he stood on a platform. Sora slid downwards and drove his Keyblade into the side of a pillar. Jim flew off the platform and just managed to grab onto an outcropping of a nearby wall.

"JIM!" The boy looked at his friend, just out of reach and watched the pirate try to keep the laser from slicing the ship in two. "SILVER! HELP HIM!"

Silver looked down at the two boys; Sora could make it up, but Jim's grip kept slipping. "Jimbo…" He extended his metallic hand, grabbing Sora by the collar before throwing him up out of danger. Next, he reached for Jim. "Reach for me now! Reach!"

The boy stretched out his hand towards the pirate, but he couldn't reach. "I… I can't!" Suddenly the outcropping he was holding retracted into the wall, making him fall further until he grabbed another, smaller outcropping.

The cyborg grimaced; his eyes darting between the treasure and the boys. "I…"

"SILVER!"

He groaned, "Oh, blast me for a fool!" He let go of the boat and caught Jim just before he fell. The two climbed back up onto the platform, Sora helping. The boat exploded above them.

The pirate and the boys ran through the big door and paused for a minute. "Silver, you gave up?"

"Just a lifelong obsession, Jim. I'll get over it."

"JIM! SORA!" The R.L.S. Legacy lowered down before them, with everyone on board. Kairi was waving happily from the deck.

B.E.N. stood at the helm with Aqua. "Hurry people! We got exactly two minutes and thirty-four seconds till planet's destruction!"

Amelia leaned against the mast as Dr. Doppler drove. "You're doing fine, doctor."

"Captain, are you sure you don't want me to drive?" Riku offered.

"No… Now ease her over gently… gently!" The ship slammed into the cliff on which they stood.

Lea caught himself on a wall as he and Goofy stood in the brig watching over the captured pirates. One of the pirates yelled, "Aah! We were better off on exploding planet!"

"Couldn't agree with you more!"

Sora and Jim pulled Silver onto the ship as they took off. "Take us out of here, metal man!"

"Aye Captain!"

Silver walked up the stairs, took off his hat, and bowed to Amelia. "Captain, you dropped from the heavens in the nick of…"

"Save your claptrap for the judge, Silver!"

The cyborg chuckled nervously. Suddenly a flying rock took off the top mast and destroyed the cannon, causing the ship to lose power.

"Missile tail demobilized, Captain!" B.E.N. stammered, "Thrusters at only 30% of capacity."

"30%? That means we're… We'll never clear the planet's explosion in time."

Jim ran to the side and looked back at the portal. Then his eyes met the cannon thruster, still sparking. "We gotta turn around."

"WHAT?!"

"There's a portal back there. It can get us out of here!"

Sora, Kairi, and Silver looked back at the portal as Doppler panicked, "Pardon me, Jim, but didn't that portal open onto a raging inferno!?"

"Yes," Jim grabbed a piece of metal, "but I'm gonna change that. I'm gonna open a different door."

The doctor shrugged. "Captain, really, I don't see how this is possible…"

"Listen to the boy!" Silver yelled as he lumbered over to Jim.

"One minute, twenty-nine seconds till planet's destruction!"

Sora and Kairi joined the cyborg by Jim. "What do you need, Jim?"

"Just some way to attach this." He attempted to attach the cannon thruster to the piece of metal he found, to make a glider of some sort.

"All right, stand back. Stand back, now." His hand turned into a welding torch and he welded them together. "There you go." They put it on the side of the ship.

Sora jumped up on the railing. "Ven! Get your butt over here!" The blond boy came over. "Get your glider ready, we're going with him!"

Jim jumped up on the makeshift glider. "Ok, now, no matter what happens keep the ship heading straight for that portal." Sora and Ven stood on Ven's glider and hovered alongside the ship, waiting on the cabin boy.

"Fifty-eight seconds!"

Jim hit the barrel and shot off, the two Keybearers right beside him. "Well, you heard him!" the cyborg yelled, "Get this blasted heap turned 'round!"

Amelia, eyes brimming with uncertainty, turned to Doppler, "Doctor, head us back to the portal."

"Aye, Captain." The boys glided through the rising and shifting metal all around, with the ship tailing behind.

Amelia and Doppler argued, "Go to the right! The right!"

"I know, I know! Will you just let me drive!?"

Riku steadied himself against the mast next to Aqua. "They sound like my parents when we're on a road trip."

Aqua smiled, but even in the chaos, Riku saw a glint of grief in her eyes. "TWENTY-FIVE SECONDS!"

As they flew, Jim's charge went out, but the gear stuck so he couldn't load another. "No! No!" He began to fall down into a ravine of molten metal.

"JIM!" Sora and Ven flew down after him, but couldn't catch up.

Kairi stood beside Silver, closing her eyes, waiting for the final blast. Morph flew into her pocket for protection "SEVENTEEN SECONDS!"

As Jim continued to fall. He turned his board and drug the charge along the metal wall. Suddenly it sparked and caught fire. Giving him the blast he needed to get out. The other two followed him up and out as the ship passed overhead.

The boys and the ship flew closer towards the portal as B.E.N. began to countdown. "SEVEN… SIX… FIVE… FOUR… THREE… TWO…"

Jim touched the Montressor spaceport on the globe. The group shot out through the portal into open space, the blast behind them. "WOW! YEAH!"

Silver cheered, "You done it, Jimmy! You done it, boy! Ha, ha, ha!" The boy flew by and high-fived the cyborg. Morph came out and turned into a fireworks display. "Didn't I say the lad had greatness in him?"

Everyone, even the captive pirates cheered. Amelia and Doppler embraced happily; when Sora got back to the deck Kairi tackled him in a hug.

Jim jumped off the board, and the others surrounded him. "Unorthodox," Amelia praised, "but ludicrously effective. I'd be proud to recommend you to the interstellar academy. They could use a man like you."

Sora smiled as Kairi ran over. He moved to go after her, but a metallic hand grabbed his arm gently. "What is it Silver?"

"Fine bunch of friends you got there," the cyborg smiled, "Especially that little lass of yours. Now, I did manage to grab some of that treasure and…" He held out his hand and put something in Sora's.

The boy opened his hand and saw a golden ring with a ring of tiny sapphires around a pink diamond. "Thanks but…"

"Save that, and give it to her when the time is right…" He lumbered off, leaving Sora with his gift.

"Mickey," the captain turned to the mouse, "when should your ship be repaired."

The King laughed, "Actually that's what Riku and I were coming to tell you, right before the mutiny started."

"Well then," Doppler smiled, "I guess you will be off."

"Yes, goodbye!"

Jim smiled, taking their hands. "Well, guys. Guess we'll see you around. It was wonderful to meet you guys."

"And you too Jim!"

"Goodbye!"

The group got into the Gummi Ship and shot off into the stars.

* * *

Sora gently knocked on the door to Kairi's room. He smiled as she opened the door. "Hey, Kairi."

"Hey. What's up?"

"I was hoping you would tell me why you have a knife hidden in your sleeve." He looked her in the eyes. "I get the feeling it involves that 'incident' during training that I felt(2)."

The girl nodded. "You deserve to know." She took his hands. "I went on a solo mission and got captured and brainwashed. They put all this stuff in my head, and it makes me think like a master assassin. I can't help it. I-I look at a situation and I know how to literally kill someone in twenty different ways. Not exactly the proper mindset for a Princess of Heart…"

"So that's it…" Sora hugged her. "I'm sorry."

"I'm fine now. I've gotten used to it, but thanks for the concern."

Sora smiled. "No problem." He took her hand. "I was going to cook supper, wanna help(3)?"

"Sure."

"I'll meet you in the kitchen, I need to get something from my room first." He kissed the top of her head and went across the hall. The moment the door closed behind him, Sora pulled the ring out of his pocket. "For when the time is right…" He found a small pouch and slipped the ring inside before hiding it in his sock drawer(4).

* * *

 **Treasure Planet is done!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), Instagram (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) The Xeno Heartless… based on Xenomorphs because aliens.

(2) This is a reference to the Training Series.

(3) Sora is continually cooking because I thought that could be a hobby of his.

(4) Most stereotypical place ever.

* * *

 **Altar of Witness**

This morning I found myself reading Joshua 22 in my bible. This story mentioned some of the Israelites building an altar; at first the others thought they were doing something wrong, but instead, they were building an Altar of Witness.

This is something they built, a physical object, to represent and show others their faith and trust in God, to represent how grateful they were for what He did.

Christians today can make their own Altar of Witness, though we may not chisel it out of stone or build a physical monument. We do things and show our faith and such in things that we do. These can be an 'altar' of sorts.

We are called to tell others about God and share what He has done for us. This witness can be shown in many ways, by word of mouth, or on some sort of platform: a video, movie, story, or even a little note at the bottom of a chapter. We each proclaim our witness in some ways.

Look for a way to build your own Altar of Witness.


	24. Chapter 24: Camelot

**Normally, I would have this world divided into two chapters or have two separate visits, but it just didn't work out that way so two worlds in this story will have only one chapter dedicated to them.**

 **This is one of my favorite childhood movies!**

 **I would like to thank** **Frostwind523** **,** **Lauralkelly99** **,** **Atea1793** **, and** **DragonMack** **for following/favoriting!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Quest for Camelot © to Warner Bros.**

* * *

 **Chapter 24: Camelot**

* * *

"Ok, why did we land in the middle of the creepiest forest in all the worlds?" Lea shook a vine off his shoulder.

The group stood in a strange forest where the only noises to be heard were the creaking of trees, the calls of distant animals, and the trickle of a nearby stream. Donald crossed his wings, tapping his foot. "The king said that there was a strange magic coming from here."

"Yeah," Aqua shivered. "I can feel it all around us. It doesn't feel dark or evil, just wild."

"Is that a good or bad thing?"

"Probably bad because that means that these things around us are potentially dangerous and there is nothing to hold them back from trying to kill us."

Kairi looked around at the dark foliage, nervous as to what vicious creatures might inhabit the limbs and leaves. A screech made her jump, but she relaxed as she saw a small falcon sitting on a branch nearby. "You scared me, little guy." The bird hopped down the branch towards her, screeching curiously. The girl slowly reached out and petted the falcon. "Hey, guys, come here."

Everyone gathered around the friendly bird who flapped its wings happily at their coming. "Look at that." Ven gingerly grabbed a wing, extending it. "It has silver wings." The feathers on the bottom of the creature's wings were a shining silver.

"Amazing."

The falcon suddenly perked up, flying off through the trees. It paused for a moment to look back at the group, screeching as if it wanted them to follow before it flew off once more. "Follow it!"

They ran after the bird, coming into a clearing with a small pool. A young woman with auburn hair in a ponytail sat in the water, covered by a fishing net. Nearer to the shore stood a young man with brown hair with a staff. "Hey! That's my net."

The girl looked at the man, but a moment later two metal men came crashing into the pool with a metal animal that resembled a chicken.

One of the metal men grabbed the animal, throwing it at the man. The falcon from earlier screeched and at the same moment, the man dodged. The bird flew around, screeching, and every time he did, the man would move, attacking one of the metal men with maces for arms until a giant tongue came out of what seemed to be a tree, wrapping around the metal creature and pulling it into its mouth.

The other metal man approached the man only for him to hit a vine, on which sat the falcon which moved directly before the strike. A hanging log swung down, hitting the metal man into a whirlpool that suddenly appeared.

"Whoa."

The girl pulled herself out of the net. "That was… incredible! How you, smashed those creatures! How y-you avoided that thing! You're amazing! You're…" The man now stood with his back to her, the torn fishing net in his hands and an annoyed expression on his face. "Not even listening to me."

"Great. Took me six weeks to make this net."

"Net?" The girl cocked her head. "You saved my life. Thank you."

The man turned his head toward her slightly. "Well, everyone can make a mistake."

"Hey!" Sora called, drawing the attention of the two to them. "That was really rude. She was in trouble and you helped her, now you're saying that."

The man looked back at the net chuckling. "I must thank all of you…"

"For what?"

"For reminding me why I'm a hermit! Good day!" He dropped the net and began to walk away.

The girl stumbled out of the water after him, "Wait! What's your name? What are all your names?"

The group introduced themselves as they followed the two through the forest. The man finally sighed. "My name is Garrett."

"I'm Kayley!" She moved to get in front of him. "Garrett! Why won't you look at me when I'm talking to you?" She paused, her expression falling. "Oh, I didn't realize you were…"

"What? Tall? Rugged? Handsome?"

"Blind." When Garrett turned to the group, everyone noticed his gray, clouded eyes.

The man laughed. "You know, I always forget that one."

"You and my girlfriend would probably get along," Lea smiled. "She's blind too, but doesn't let that stop her."

Garrett smirked and kept walking, but the falcon flew in his face, chirping. "Not now, Ayden."

"Garret, did you know that your falcon has silver wings?"

"Really?" the blind man waved a hand. "I'll have to take your word for that."

Kayley's eyes widened. "It does, and that means he knows where Excalibur is!"

"Excalibur? What's that?"

The girl stared at the group in shock. "The magical sword of King Arthur, the sign of his lordship."

"Yes," Garrett huffed, "but Excalibur is in Camelot, even Ayden knows that. You know, big castle, lots of flags."

"No! It's somewhere in the forest." The Kayley's voice became urgent. "Sir Ruber has stolen it, and he's taken my mother hostage. That's why I'm here! I must find the sword and return it to Arthur, or Camelot and my mother are doomed."

"We'll help you find it, Kayley!"

Garrett held up his arm for the falcon, Ayden, who began chirping. "Excalibur is here? Right, we're going after it!"

"Great!"

"Not you, any of you. Me and Ayden." He pointed his walking stick at the group. "We work alone."

"Well, I don't see any reason why we can't come along."

Garrett groaned, turning and walking away. "I know this forest, and none of you do. I know how to get through it without dying. If you come along, you'll just get in the way and get yourselves killed." He walked away, but the others kept following.

"Garrett," Ven called. "We can take care of ourselves!"

"I don't think so."

Suddenly, Ayden began screeching as dark shapes began rising from the shadows. Neoshadows, Stealth Soldiers, and Wyverns appeared. "What are these things!?"

"Heartless!" The group attacked the monsters; Kayley grabbed a branch, swinging it like a club as Garrett and Ayden fought off the Heartless.

When they finished off all the monsters, the Kayley groaned. "I have never seen those things before, perhaps you should tag along, but not her."

"If we go, Kayley comes too." Kairi huffed.

Garrett ran his hand over his face. "Oh alright! Alright!

* * *

"It's a fine mess you've gotten us into!"

Lea stood beside him as they both wiped the goo off their heads. "Kayley, stop touching stuff!"

The girl ran her hand across the flowers over their heads, and the plants dropped goop onto the ground. "I don't see what's the problem."

"Kayley! Just stop." Aqua put a hand on the girl's shoulders. "Let's just keep walking."

Sora held Kairi's hand as they walked. "You know, this place is pretty when it's not trying to kill us." The two looked over as eyes on stalks popped out of holes in the ground, watching the group as they walked along.

After about an hour, the trees began to thin out and the ground changed from mossy, wet, green earth to brown rock and the air filled with a stinky yellow fog. Riku covered his nose. "Ugh! I know that smell."

"Sulfur." Sora coughed. "Is there a volcano nearby?"

"No, we're in Dragon Country." Garrett knelt down, feeling the earth.

Kayley looked around. "Oh." The group walked across the barren landscape, climbing over white structures that looked eerily like bones. "Are you sure this is Dragon Country? Shouldn't there be a sign or something? Hey, it could say 'Welcome to Dragon Country'. A few of the others snickered at her silly remarks, but Donald and Garrett seemed to get more annoyed by the second. However, the girl just continued to talk. "You don't think we'll see any dragons, do you?"

"If we do, we can take them." Ven grinned.

Aqua nodded. "If we have to fight them we can."

The girl seemed a little reassured by this, but she continued to nervously ramble. "Is a group of dragons a pack or a flock? Is it a gaggle or a pride? Is it a herd?"

"Quiet!" The blind man stopped, holding up a hand.

"Did you hear something?"

"No, I just want you to be quiet."

A rumble shook the earth as rocks tumbled from atop the gorge they walked through. Everyone fell silent as they continued on, the warriors all holding their weapons at the ready. They came into an open area filled with giant round mounds and some lay nearby, shattered.

"Those are dragon eggs…"

A roar echoed through the air. "Hide!" Everyone split up, jumping into some of the empty eggs. Mickey poked his head out of the shell he, Goofy, and Riku hid in. A shadow on the wall caught his eye. "Dragons!"

Everyone turned, seeing the shadow of two dragons. As they all prepared to attack, one of the dragons cried out. "Where? I don't see any dragons!"

All around lowered their weapons slightly as Kairi approached the eggshell the dragons sat in. "But you're dragons."

The two dragons ducked their heads down. "Oh heavens! Someone's found our hiding place!"

"Shut up, cricket ball! Let me handle this." The second voice called out, attempting to sound ferocious. "We are dragons! Ferocious hungry dragons! So go away before we eat you!"

Kairi marched right up to the eggshell. "Oh come out! We're not scared!"

A thin neck and small head popped up and then a more round head popped up beside it. "Please, don't hurt us!"

"And we thought you were ferocious dragons."

"Well," the dragon with the rounder head looked down, "not exactly. The real ferocious ones are those fire-breathing bullies out there."

"Yes! They're always picking on us, calling us names, pushing us around. I hate them."

Garrett began tapping them with his walking stick. "What are you?"

"Well," the thin head sighed. "Frankly we're the reason cousins shouldn't marry." They stepped out of the eggshell revealing themselves to be not two dragons, but a single dragon with two heads.

"What. The. Heck."

The thin head smiled. "I'm Devon, and this growth on my neck is Cornwall."

"But you can call me 'Corny' for short." He grabbed Kairi's hand, smirking.

"Yes, short on wits, manners, and charm. Everything I hold dear."

"How about holding your breath!?"

Riku rolled his eyes. "Well, nice to meet you, but we have to get to Camelot."

"Bye."

They continued on, but the dragon followed behind. Suddenly a roar shook the air around them. A group of large dragons, fire flecking the edges of their mouths, swooped down upon them. Aqua cast Quake, creating a temporary barrier between them and the creatures as they approached a pool of steaming green liquid.

Devon and Cornwall hopped across stones that spanned the pool. Goofy skidded to a stop at the edge of the pool. "What is this?"

"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe!"

Mickey grabbed a nearby bone and dipped it into the liquid. "Safe?"

"As long as you don't step in it."

Everyone, one at a time, hopped across the stones. Garrett came last, relying on Ayden to help him gauge the distance between the stones. "Garrett, hurry!"

"You think this is easy!?" He made it across and they ran to where the canyon took a sharp turn.

As they turned a corner, another roar filled the air. "Another dragon!?"

"That's not a dragon!" Kayley screamed as another creature emerged from the smoke, its feathered wings blowing back the yellow fog. "It's a griffin!" From behind the griffin came four metal men like the ones Garrett fought and a man in red armor. "And Ruber! They found us."

The group stood in the corner, Ruber approaching from one side and the other dragons from the other. "Down here!" The two-headed dragon leapt down a giant hole, and the others followed leaving their enemies to face one another.

Everyone slid down the rocky tunnel until they shot out into a cave. "Ow…"

Mickey looked around. "Anyone hurt?"

"No…"

Sora looked over at the dragon, blind man, and the girl who now argued amongst themselves. "Why don't we search for an exit while they argue."

"Sounds good."

Ven, Kairi, and Sora took one tunnel and the others took different paths. The blond boy kept glancing over at the girl. "Is there something wrong, Ven?"

"Sorry, I just wanted to ask, can Naminé hear us?"

"I don't know," Kairi smiled. "I heard that you spoke to her. Do you, like her?"

The boy blushed. "Well… I-I… can we change the subject?"

Kairi and Sora laughed. They came around a bend and saw the sun shining outside on a plain of grass. "Well, there's the exit."

"Yep, but what's that?" A little blue head poked out from a bush.

"An Unversed!?" Ven summoned his Keyblade only for the little Flood to run under Kairi's feet, hiding behind her legs(1).

The girl looked down. "Wait… look at it." The creature looked up at her, cocking its head. "I don't know what it wants, but it wants something." The Flood hopped up on its hind legs putting its front feet on her leg.

"I'll go get the others. You stay here with the Flood." Sora ran back as Kairi knelt down, and the creature hopped onto her knees.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Kayley, but we'll catch up with you. Something has come up that goes beyond this world."

The girl sighed. "I understand."

"Mickey," Aqua smiled. "Why don't you, Lea, Donald, Goofy, and myself stay with Kayley and Garrett. The others can go with Sora. There's another exit we can take just in case the Unversed decides to attack."

"Sounds good."

Sora and Riku went off and found Kairi and Ven still with the Unversed. Riku shook his head. "What is that thing doing?"

"I wish we knew." Jiminy watched as Kairi scratched it behind the antenna. "But it's quite docile."

"Not to me! It won't let me near it." Ven huffed.

Sora knelt down and the Flood looked at him. "This is so weird."

"Not really." Kairi rubbed the creature's head. "Unversed are spawned from Vanitas' negative emotions. Not all negative emotions are akin to anger. Some are sadness, longing, jealousy, hopelessness…" The Flood began to flicker and it changed into a complete other creature, with the Unversed symbol in the middle of its head.

It looked like a Flood but had puppy-like paws and a tail, with a blue body covered in white spots. In the middle of its back lay a gaping hole shaped like a heart.

"Whoa!" The creature shifted, again and again, changing into different Unversed before going back to the puppy form. "What kind of Unversed is this?"

It stared into the eyes of Kairi before the girl spoke up. "Yenlow(2)… I don't know how I know, but that's what it is." The Yenlow suddenly turned, running into the bushes. "Hey!" She ran after him.

"Kairi!" The others followed after her.

* * *

Deeper into the forest, Aqua and the others watched Kayley and Garrett argue. "Well, here's where we stop."

"Stop? But what about Excalibur?"

"No one travels through the Forbidden Forest after dark."

"Well, my father, Sir Lionel, would have!"

The blind man paused, an expression of shock on his face. Goofy rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe we should leave them alone."

"Yeah."

Aqua sighed. "She and I are a lot alike. We talked in the forest; her father was killed by the man who now has her mother hostage, Ruber, and now she is trying to make her father proud. I've hoped to make Master Eraqus proud by what I've done, and then there are my birth parents. When they died and Master Eraqus took me in, I made a vow to do my best to make them proud. I want to believe they'd be happy with the person I've become."

Mickey laid his hand on hers. "I'm sure they are, Aqua."

"Thanks, Mickey." They watched as Garrett tried to help teach Kayley some fighting with guidance from Ayden. "Reminds me of myself and Terra. He was always better at the physical combat, while I was better with magic. He would help me sometimes…"

She looked at the two and saw herself, Terra standing with her. She held her Keyblade and Terra put his hand over hers, guiding her through the sword strikes. "You're doing great, Aqua…!"

"While we would fight sometimes, we cared for one another."

Donald smiled. "That's better than a certain two-headed dragon who can't fly or breathe fire."

"Yeah," Aqua laughed. "I'll find him, and I'll save him, one day."

* * *

Kairi woke up the next morning, lying on a bed of moss. The moment her eyes opened, she saw the Yenlow Unversed curled up beside her, looking as if it was asleep. "Hey there…"

"It's been here for hours." Riku sat by the campfire they made the night before. "I think it likes you."

"Don't know why."

Jiminy sat on the boy's shoulders, writing in his journals. "Perhaps it's drawn to light."

"Well, I think I'm going to keep it." Kairi picked up the Unversed and it curled up in her lap.

"Really?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "It can stay on the gummi ship. It doesn't need food or water. It will be fine."

The Unversed ran off the girl's lap and a little ways away. It stopped, staring at them. "I think it wants us to follow it."

"Wake up Sora and we'll go." Riku covered the fire with dirt as Kairi woke Sora up.

"So, we follow the weird Unversed? Sounds good."

* * *

"Who's that?" Kayley pointed up to a ridge where someone in a black coat stood waiting.

"All of you, get out of here. We'll catch up." The warriors summoned their weapons as the others ran.

The black-cloaked man laughed. "Well, it has been a while, hasn't it." He threw off his hood, Braig's single eye glinting evilly.

"Should've known…"

"How are all of you? Ya know, after you lost your best friend," He smirked at Lea. "You lost your love," His eye turned to Aqua. "And sweet little Princess Kairi lost her parents."

"That's it!" Lea leapt at the man, slashing at him.

Braig leapt back. "Try and catch me." He warped away.

"After him!" Lea ran.

"Lea! Wait!" Mickey and the others followed, trying to catch their friend. "This seems like a trap!"

They ran for quite some time until they found Braig standing in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by Sniper Nobodies. "Now, let's have some fun!" He and his mooks vanished, appearing around the group as they began to fire their weapons.

"Protectza!" Aqua's shield surrounded them. "The moment this shield drops, we need to take them down!"

"Right!"

* * *

"Wait!" Sora called after the Yenlow. "We need a minute to rest."

The Unversed cocked its head but stopped, walking over to Sora. It leapt up onto his shoulder and climbed onto his head. The boy laughed as the creature began pawing at some of the spikes on his head.

"It's weirdly playful for something spawned from negativity."

Ven nodded. "Yeah, but Kairi was right about how it might not be the negative emotions we think of. It wants attention, but it seems kid-like." He reached over and picked the Unversed up; it struggled to get out of his grasp, but their eyes met. "Now I get it… it represents longing of all kinds." He let it go and the creature ran to Riku's feet.

"You know I don't like you." It backed away and went back to Kairi. "I'm not surprised it doesn't like you, Ven. I don't think it minds Sora because of his resemblance to Vanitas; it likes Kairi because of her light, and it might like me because of traces of darkness on me."

Kairi giggled as the creature nuzzled her face. "You know, I wonder if this creature is Vanitas' subconscious call for help, for someone to care about him."

Everyone paused at these words. "That must be it."

"Little one," Kairi picked up the Yenlow, looking it in the eyes. "Are you leading us to Vanitas?" It nodded. "To help him?" Another nod.

"I guess that solves it. Lead the way, Yenlow."

The Unversed perked up, jumping to attention as it turned, jogging away.

* * *

Braig clapped as the others finished off his Nobodies. "Well done! You beat my stooges and left your other friends to be captured or killed by that Ruber guy. Oh, what were their names…? Kayley, Garrett, and wasn't that dragon named Devon and Cornwall?"

"What!?" The group's eyes widened. "You did this on purpose to lure us away!"

"Guilty as charged. I mean, more worlds encased in darkness means more Heartless, and more Heartless means more soldiers for us. Well, see ya!" He vanished.

Mickey began to run back. "Hurry! We have to save Kayley and Garrett!" Suddenly, Ayden screeched above them and flew off to their left. "Follow that bird!"

They ran, making sure to keep the bird overhead at all times until they broke out of the trees into a barren landscape covered in rocks and bones. Giant footprints littered the ground and they could see their friends up ahead. "There they are!"

"They're alright!"

Cornwall turned back. "Well, look who missed all the action."

"Sorry," Lea sighed. "That jerk lured us away, but at least all of you are alright."

Kayley smiled. "We had a close call, but we made it. And we know where Excalibur is; an ogre has it."

"An ogre… Well, that's just great."

They went into a cave at the base of a large rocky hill. Garrett placed his hand on the wall as he whispered. "Ogres sleep during the day, so we wait for him to fall asleep. Then we grab the sword. Now keep quiet. The slightest noise and we're finished."

"Charming place…" Devon mused nervously. "I must get the name of his decorator.

Aqua poked her head out of the tunnel and into the large opening. "I don't see the… wait." The rocks in the room suddenly shifted to reveal a massive creature made of stone. "Never mind."

"Where's the sword?"

"He's… using it as a toothpick." The creature started sticking a beautiful sword between its teeth.

"Gross… now we just have to wait for his to pass out."

Aqua watched the ogre settle down to rest, its eyes shutting. "There's a ledge sticking out over Excalibur, but it's at least a twenty-foot drop." She turned back to the others. "Lea, you and Garrett are going to have to lower Kayley down. I'd use a Magnet spell, but the ogre is made of rock and he might be pulled in by the spell. The rest of us can hold you up. I think the ogre is asleep. Let's go."

A few minutes later, the three hung over the ledge with the others holding on to their legs. Lea huffed. "Kayley, hurry up. My arms are beginning to hurt."

"Huh?" Donald perked up at a clanking noise from the tunnel. "Uh-oh… Hurry up!" They all looked and saw Ruber and his men coming towards them.

Kayley grabbed the sword, but the ogre began to stir. His hand slammed into the wall, trapping Ruber's men into the rock. Lea, Garrett, and Kayley got off the ledge and ran as the rocky monster began to rise, focusing on Ruber who now sat on the back of his griffin.

They went underneath the ogre's feet and to a tunnel on the other side of the open area and ran out as fast as they could only to find themselves at a cliff edge. They all flew off, only saved by Aqua and Donald casting Blizardza along the path in front of them. Sliding along the icy ground, they eventually rolled out onto mossy, springy ground at the edge of another area of the forest, thick with trees.

"Whoa… what a ride!"

Kayley sat up, looking at the sword. She'd put it in the scabbard that she and Garrett found when the other warriors were after Braig. "We did it… We did it! I can't believe it! We really did it!"

"Wow!" Mickey looked at the sword. "It's beautiful." He laid his hand on the sword. "And the magic in it is powerful."

"We should get it back to King Arthur. Come on, Kayley."

They got up and continued to walk on. "Do you think my mother is safe?"

"If she's anything like you, she's fine." Lea patted the girl on her shoulder. "Do you think that you guys could make it there on your own? We need to find Sora and the others."

Garrett nodded. "We can make it."

"Thanks for helping us."

Mickey smiled. "We can meet you in Camelot once we find them."

"Sounds good."

* * *

The Yenlow ran ahead of the group, rounding a corner. When they came around the corner, they saw Vanitas standing there.

He looked down at the Yenlow as it jumped at his legs. "What are you doing here!? You know I hate you!" His eyes went up and saw the group; they boy tensed, looking from the Unversed to the pitying expressions of his enemies. Vanitas shook, gritting his teeth as he summoned his Keyblade. The Yenlow turned to run, but Vanitas sliced it in half. "Leave me alone!"

"Vanitas!"

The boy turned to them. "What do you want and wipe those stupid looks off your face."

"Vanitas…"

He paused, seeing their faces. "That stupid Unversed! I hate those stupid sad expressions! I want you all to die!" Suddenly, five Yenlows appeared around him. "GO AWAY!" He slashed them apart. He suddenly vanished into a dark corridor, his face a mask of anger and hurt, and one last Yenlow appeared in his place. It ran to Sora, leaning against his leg.

"Well, at least you little guys care about him." Sora patted its head. "Maybe we should keep you around, so when Vanitas is near, we can find him. Maybe we could get him on our side."

Riku huffed. "I don't know about that, but I guess it couldn't hurt to have the tiny thing."

"Guys!" Mickey and the others came out of the trees. "There you are!"

"Hey!"

Aqua looked down at the Unversed. "So, did you find Vanitas?"

"Yeah, and he was not happy."

"But he didn't fight us." Ven piped up. "I think he was embarrassed that we knew about his feelings. Kairi figured out that this Unversed could be a representation of his longing for someone to care about him. I think that might be right since he got so mad when he saw it and us with it."

"Makes sense."

Goofy smiled. "Well, now that we're all together again, why don't we meet the others at Camelot?"

"Sounds good."

* * *

Clouds began covering the sun and a dark chill filled the air as they reached the road before the castle. "Look!"

Soldiers battled against Ruber's metal men and Heartless. "Ruber made it in!"

"Let's go!"

They ran in, weapons at the ready. They saw Devon and Cornwall in the air fighting Ruber's Griffin. "There!" Garrett and Kayley pulled themselves up from a pile of sacks, where they had fallen. "Garrett! Kayley!"

"You're here!?" The girl smiled. "Ruber has the king trapped inside!"

Suddenly, a roar shook the earth as a giant monster landed in the courtyard. It looked like a giant metal griffin with green veins running through it and the Heartless symbol in the middle of its head. Riku turned to the girl and blind man. "Get inside and help the king, we'll take care of this thing!"

The Vein Leoace(3) roared as the innocent bystanders rushed to the gate, flanked by the castle guards. "Everyone spread out!" Aqua called. "Aim for its feet and wings. We can't have it fly off, and we have to bring it down!"

"Got it!"

Lea and Ven dashed to either side of the creatures and slashed at the giant wings. The creature turned to snap at them, but the others attacked its feet, drawing its attention. The Heartless screeched, its roar blowing everyone back.

"Miss!" One of the castle guards ran to Aqua. "How can we help?"

"Attack its feet and draw its attention while we bring it down."

"On it!" The guards swarmed the creature.

Aqua summoned her glider and flew into the sky before dismissing it and landing on its back. She saw circles that pumped the green liquid through the monster. With a single strike, she shattered one, and the Heartless screeched in agony. "That's it!" She ran along its back, casting Firza spells at every circle she could see. As they exploded, the green liquid shot into the air, running down its back, steam rising from the liquid as it splattered to the ground.

"We've almost got it!"

Aqua ran up to the Heartless' head where one last circle stood, this one larger and tougher than the others(4). The young woman grabbed a niche in the metal, hanging on as she drove the Keyblade into the pump, over and over until the Heartless' eyes went dark and it evaporated into darkness with one final screech.

"Let's find Kayley and Garr…"

A scream of agony filled the air as a beam of light shot down from the sky to the right of the castle. All the metal soldiers still around turned into humans. Everyone ran to where a circle of stone structures stood around a round stone. Ruber stood by the stone, his arm turned into Excalibur, but the sword was stuck in the stone. The man cried out as the blue light surrounded him and began to unravel his body, sucking it up into the sky, leaving the sword behind.

The clouds in the sky began to vanish as a man with blond hair and a beard walked over to the stone and pulled the sword from it with ease.

"It's over."

* * *

"Well, that was fun."

Kairi sat in the gummi ship, petting the Yenlow in her lap. "I guess." The Unversed rolled over in her arms. "Oh! You're just so cute! I'm going to name you Kyokan(5)!"

"I can't believe you're naming that thing."

"Hush you!"

Mickey looked over at Sora and Ven. "If that creature really is a subconscious call for help from Vanitas, then we have to do something."

"If he'll accept our help."

"That will be the real challenge."

"Yeah…"

* * *

Ansem the Wise stepped into the Twilight Town mansion's laboratory. "Even, are we ready?"

"I wouldn't have called you otherwise."

Ienzo looked through the papers. "Everything looks in order. Should we call Sora and the others here."

"Yes."

"I'll hail them now." Even stepped away.

Ansem looked up at the white pod at the other end of the room. "I will make up for what I did… soon."

* * *

 **I shouldn't have to tell you what's coming up. ;)**

 **Please review!**

* * *

 _If you are interested in following my other writings (fanfictions, short stories, and upcoming novel) and/or my art, you can look for me on Deviantart (KristenKHVerne), Tumblr (Kristen Verne), Facebook (Kristen Verne), Instagram (Kristen Verne), or Twitter (Kristen Verne)._

* * *

Footnotes

(1) This is NOT Akame! 

(2) Yenlow is a combination of the words "yen" and "low". Yen is a synonym for "want" and low is a synonym for "sad". 

(3) Vein is a synonym for metal and it represents the green veins on the Heartless. Leo means lion and Ace is a synonym for eagle. 

(4) Got this idea from "Shadow of the Colossus". 

(5) Kyokan means empathy in Japanese. 

* * *

**This Is Me**

For many years, I've dealt with loneliness and potential social anxiety, worrying about being completely alone, and even choosing to be alone than to be around people I think don't like me.

I allowed what people have said about me to dictate what I think about myself. I wonder what is wrong with me, what did I do.

I am still dealing with this and it doesn't get fixed in one day, but it is a process.

I am learning to see myself not through my peers but through God's eyes. Throughout the Bible, God shows and says how much he loves us and how he sees us. He formed us, knew every part of us before we were even born. He sees us as his children and loves us regardless of what we do.

Again, it is a process, and it takes work on our end to catch ourselves when we speak bad things against ourselves, saying what other people say or make us feel, we need to stop those thoughts and remind ourselves what God thinks of us.


	25. Chapter 25: Restoration of Life

**This is it!**

 **I will say, I got the KH2 Novel Vol. 1 and 2. There was SOOOO much extra info in there, so I'm pulling from a lot of that too but not too much as you should go read the books yourself.**

 **First of all, I'd like to thank the members of the KH Community on Facebook for helping me with parts of this chapter, specifically Anibeth B. and Nathan A.!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

* * *

 **Chapter 25: Restoration of Life**

* * *

"Hey, Even." Riku looked up at the screen as the older man's face appeared. "What is it?"

The scientist replied. " _Could you and the others meet us at the mansion in Twilight Town? Lord Ansem has something to show you._ "

"Alright… We're on our way."

* * *

Sora stretched as they stepped out of the train station on Twilight Town. "It's nice to be back."

"I wonder what Uncle Ansem wants to show us."

"We'll find out soon enough." The group walked through the town, but it seemed quieter than usual. "Where is everyone?"

Lea looked around. "Well it looks to be about nine in the morning, and that calendar says that it's a Tuesday and that it's April. So, people are probably at work or school.(1)"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi paused for a moment. "Normal life…" Riku laughed to himself. "I almost forgot that it existed."

"You alright?"

"Yeah, let's just get moving."

They walked towards the mansion, coming upon two teens about Riku's age sitting near the gates: a boy with red hair and a girl with brown hair(2). One held a sketch pad and the other a notebook. "Excuse me!" Even stormed out the gates, glaring down at them. "We posted warning signs for a reason. Please leave!"

"Oh, sorry." The boy grinned. "We saw you and some other cool guys in lab coats, and we got inspired." He turned around his sketchbook and showed a great sketch of Ienzo.

"Yeah!" The girl nodded. "He looked so cool that we had to make a character based on him for our new manga."

Even groaned. "Just go away." The two teens shrugged, hurrying away. "Annoying kids. We've seen so many of them around here. Just come with me."

They followed the scientist into the abandoned mansion and down to the underground laboratory. "Even," Kairi asked. "Why did you call us here?"

"Well…" Even paused, looking down at the floor. "After King Mickey gave us the data we needed, we began work on this project. We hope to make up for what we and our Nobodies did…" He turned his head slightly, looking at them out of the corner of his eye. "We're going to bring Roxas and Naminé."

"What?! How!?" Lea grabbed the scientist's arm. "Why didn't you tell us about this!?"

"We didn't know if the procedure would work at all. We still don't know what all will happen, but we are certain it will work in some form. Now, please let me go."

Lea let go of Even's arm and they continued their walk down to the lab. Donald, Goofy, Sora, and Jiminy looked around the hallway full of pods. Memories of the beginning and end of their second journey filled their minds. Four pods were lit up and strange, blank forms stood in them, looking like blank dolls(3).

"Those look so creepy. What are they?" Ven touched one of the pods.

"Blank replicas." Even scratched his nose, averting his gaze. "We… found them in my Nobody's lab. The Riku Replica you mentioned is on Xehanort's side started as one of these. My Nobody had a love for tinkering with life, and while I regret what he did I plan to use his research to fix what we can. This laboratory belonged to my Nobody. This is where the Riku Replica came to be…(4)"

"Exactly, and now we are ready." Ansem walked into the hallway.

Kairi laid a hand on her heart. "You hear that, Nami? You're getting your own life back."

"Ansem, how is this going to work? If they even had hearts, their bodies are gone." Mickey sighed.

The ruler smiled. "That's what these blank replicas are for. We can extract their hearts and us the memories stored within to recreate their bodies. We have two extra replicas just in case one of them fails. But, I am certain that they had hearts."

"They did." Riku smiled sadly.

Lea nodded. "No kidding. I think even they knew it; I know Naminé knew(5)." He looked back at the blank dolls. Something in his heart stirred as he looked at them, mixing with the already painful memories. "I miss my old friend… and, I have to apologize to Naminé. I know I treated her badly, even though she saved my life once.(6) But I just saw her as a means to an end, or as something to move out of the way."

"Then, let's do this!" Sora's face took on a determined expression. "We have a chance to bring them back, and I don't want to wait another minute. They deserve their own lives, and you all need a chance to rebuild the relationships that you had with them. What do we have to do?"

"Follow me." They walked into the white room with the giant pod at one end. Tables covered in lab report sat around the room. Ienzo stood by the pod's control panel which stood in the middle of a large cable that moved from the large pod to the smaller pods in the hallway. "Are we ready, Ienzo?"

The young man nodded. "Everything seems to be in order."

"Sora, Kairi." Ansem gestured to the pod. "We need you to go into the pod. We have rewired it to painlessly extract the additional hearts inside you."

"At the same time?"

"Yes. Naminé's heart holds memories of Roxas as well, and we need as much data as possible to remake their bodies down to the smallest detail. It will even recreate the clothes they last wore." Even picked up a clipboard, flipping through the papers in front of him.

"Let's do it!" Sora took Kairi's hand.

The girl looked at him and nodded. "For Roxas and Naminé!"

Hand-in-hand the couple walked to the pod. Jiminy looked at some of the notes in concern. "Ansem, could Sora and Kairi get hurt in this experiment?"

"Possibly, but it would be minor pain or burning sensation, nothing permanently damaging." The older man looked over at his niece who stood at the entrance to the pod. His eyes turned to the others who all looked excited and concerned, all but Riku and Lea.

Ansem understood. He felt the same. Scared. These two were just as connected to Naminé and Roxas as he was. While the scientist knew he was doing the right thing, he was not ready to meet the two young people whose lives he had ruined. While he felt horrible about Roxas, his actual interaction with the boy was minimal. Not so with Naminé…

One particular instance came to mind. When Roxas came to the mansion, that last day of his life. The day he joined with Sora. Naminé went to Roxas to tell him what was going to happen, and Ansem pulled her away. What happened afterward would never leave the man's mind…(7)

* * *

 _Ansem, known at the time as DiZ threw the flaxen(8)-haired girl to the floor. "To think a mere Nobody would act so selfishly…"_

 _Riku helped the girl up as Naminé looked up at the man whose face peeked through red strips of cloth. "Why… were Nobodies born? Why did we have to exist at all? You know the answers, don't you?"_

" _I bear no obligation to give them to you."_

" _Don't you remember? I'm a witch."_

 _Ansem remembered laughing at her audacity, thinking that she could use her powers to make him give her the answers. "You think you can compel me? Didn't you make a 'promise' to Sora and Riku?"_

" _I didn't promise YOU anything!" The girl's eyes, fraught with emotion, her own emotions, haunted Ansem to this very day._

 _The next words he said, hurt his heart far more than he would have admitted at the time. "I shall tell you one more thing… If you hadn't gone to such lengths in the first place, Roxas would not be in so much pain. Isn't that so?"_

 _Just like him… laying all the blame on an innocent girl who was just as much a victim as Roxas._

* * *

He shoved the memory out as the white pod opened with a soft groan. Sora helped Kairi into the pod and jumped in himself. "We're ready!"

"Good. Then we'll begin."

The pod closed around the couple, leaving very little room, forcing them to stand very close together. Everyone watched with bated breath as machinery began to hum; the large pod let off a pulsing glow, muddling the view of Sora and Kairi from the outside.

Even ran towards the hallway as a similar glow came from the hallway. The cable running along the ground gave a gentle moan as an orb of light shot through it, down to the hallway.

Then came another.

And other.

"Three?"

"Lord Ansem!" Even called. "A third pod has activated. Is it a glitch?"

"There was a third heart!" He turned to Ienzo. "Do Sora and Kairi still have their own hearts?"

The young man nodded. "They do. One of them must have had two extra hearts inside them."

Ansem paused, scratching his beard. "Continue with the procedure."

Lea ran to the hallway followed by Riku, with Jiminy on his shoulder. The pods glowed and the blank replicas within began to change.

The flat faces began to take shape; noses and lips began to form outward as the area around the eyes pulled in around the small slits of eyes since the eyes were shut now. As the faces and figures took shape, hair began to appear: flaxen, bronze, and black.

The third figure drew everyone's attention, as it was a girl who looked like Kairi and Naminé in face, but she had short black hair. Riku recognized her as the girl he saw in Sora's heart(9).

Clothes began to appear on the bodies until the figures looked like themselves. The machine slowly shut off, but the pods continued to work, keeping the three in a slumber; their chests rose and fell with steady breaths.

Ansem opened the pod containing Sora and his great niece. The two blinked. "That felt weird… Did it work?"

"It did." He helped the two out of the pod. "Come see." They looked at the pods.

"That girl… I saw her in the dream worlds." Sora stared at the raven-haired girl. "Let's open the pods up."

Ansem, Ienzo, and Even stepped away. "Just press the button at the bottom of the pod."

Everyone understood why they moved out of sight, but that didn't stop Sora. He pressed the button on Roxas and Naminé's pods. He paused before hitting the one containing the last girl, wanting to ask the other two who she was first.

The two pods opened and the teens inside gasped, taking in a long breath of air. Roxas' eyes slipped open, the blue orbs darting around at the crowd before him. His eyes set on the brown-haired boy in the middle of the group. "S-Sora?"

"Hey, Roxas!" Sora reached out a hand to the boy. "Welcome back!"

Naminé blinked as her eyes met Kairi's. "Kairi? H-how?"

"You're back, Nami!"

Roxas looked around as his feet touched the ground. He seemed dazed, unaware if he was dreaming or not. "What's…?"

"Roxas!" Lea, tears in his eyes, grabbed his old friend in a massive hug. "It's you!"

This snapped the boy out of his funk. His face lit up with surprise and joy. "Axel!? It's you!?"

"Yeah, it's me!" The redhead shuddered with emotion, falling to his knees as emotions poured from him. "You're here… I've missed you…"

Roxas stared at him. Just by looking at his face, the realization slowly began to appear. This was not a dream or a daze. "Th-this is real… I-I'm back…" His eyes filled up with tears and a wide smile spread across his face.

Naminé saw all this, still holding Kairi's hand. "This is real? We're back? We're really here?"

"Yeah, Naminé." Ven placed a hand on her shoulder. He smiled as the girl turned, lighting up at the sight of him.

Riku smiled down at the girl. "You're really here." The others stood to the side, watching with expressions of joy.

After a moment, Aqua cleared her throat. "I hate to interrupt, but do you two know who she is?"

Everyone turned and looked at the other girl, still sleeping in her pod. Roxas wiped his eyes and walked to the pod. "I-I don't know, but she looks familiar." His hand reached out, touching the button to open the pod.

The pod hissed open. The girl sat still, but the moment her mouth opened, and she took that first real breath, a shockwave rippled across the group. Roxas, Naminé, Riku, Lea, Ansem, Ienzo, and Even gripped their heads as memories flooded inside.

Across the stars on Radiant Garden, Dilan and Aeleus did the very same.

On the World that Never Was, Xemnas, Braig, and Isa endured the same thing.

Memories of a girl with black hair. The replica. The puppet.

"Xion!"

The person, their entire existence formed from memories, now returned.

The girl's eyes opened. She looked around. "Roxas?"

Roxas stared up at her, his mind and heart overflowing with the emotions formerly hidden deep in his heart. More tears welled in his eyes. "It's you…"

"H-how am I…?"

Lea gently, but excitedly grabbed the girl under the arms and pulled her into a hug. The old memories, flooding back turned into a whirling storm of emotions, happy and sad. He dropped to his knees where Roxas joined the hug.

Naminé watched from the side before Lea grabbed her arm and pulled her into the hug as well. Everyone else watched with a smile. The pyro bit his lip. "I'm so sorry… I was a horrible friend. Can all of you forgive me for what I did?"

"Of course."

"We forgive you."

When they finally pulled back, Roxas looked around. "But how is this possible?"

"Ansem the Wise." Mickey pointed towards the pod room. "He and the others are in there."

Naminé looked at Riku. "He did this? Why?(10)"

"To make up for all the pain he caused to you, Roxas, and I'm sure his heart wanted to make up for what he did to Xion."

Roxas and Xion looked at each other, confused. Neither knew who this man was. Ansem stepped into the room drawing the attention of the three. They all looked at him, and he gave them the most honest, joyful smile he could. Naminé looked at him with confusion, but she looked grateful, not angry. "I am glad that all three of you are well."

At the sound of his voice, Xion and Roxas tensed. The boy's brow furrowed. "You!" Before anyone could stop him, Roxas summoned a Keyblade and charged at the man.

"Roxas!"

A blue shield blocked the attack as Even sighed. "I was afraid of this…"

"Vexen!?" Xion shuddered at the sight of the man who made her. He looked at her, his eyes averting away.

Lea grabbed his friend's arm, pulling it down. "Roxas, calm down."

"Calm down!?" His eyes began to water, and his lip quivered. "D-do you know what DiZ did to me!? He gave me a normal life! He gave me a place where I was happy… AND THEN HE TOOK IT FROM ME!" His knees gave out beneath him. "Why couldn't he just leave me alone…? Why did he…"

Ansem pushed past Even and knelt in front of Roxas. "I know that there is nothing I can do to make up for what I've done, all I can do is ask for your forgiveness and do what I can to try and make it is why I wanted to bring you back. I know what I did to you was wrong, and I wanted to provide you with the opportunity to start over."

"Diz… Ansem. I don't know if I will ever forgive you fully. But thank you for bringing us back." He let go of his Keyblade, letting it vanish into light.

"Roxas…" Xion knelt down, hugging him.

Ienzo smiled at the group. "Why don't we go upstairs? This place is full of many memories, good and bad. And I think everyone would be more comfortable sitting on a chair or couch."

* * *

Everyone sat on the old dusty couches in what appeared to be the parlor room. Ansem and Riku came up from the lab, carrying enough sea salt ice cream bars for everyone. Lea laughed. "Still have that mini-fridge under the computer, Ansem(11)?"

"I never got rid of it."

Sora smiled at his Nobody, or rather former Nobody, who stared down at his hands, flexing his fingers slowly. "You alright?"

"It's just, I never thought I would be myself again. I don't feel any different; I thought I would be more aware of having a heart, but I guess not."

"You already had one for a while, you just didn't know it at the time." Ven grinned.

Roxas looked at him. "I still don't get you."

"I'm the guy who gave you your face." The blond boy laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not you and you're not me. We just share a face, and almost the same hair, but yours is just a little darker(12), so at least we have something to tell us apart by."

"I guess so."

Kairi sat between Xion and Naminé. "So, Xion. Who are you really and why do you look like me?"

"I can explain." Even cleared his throat. "My Nobody created her as a way to copy the powers of Sora, and she eventually became a way to keep Sora from awakening, at the request of Xemans. She was supposed to absorb memories through Roxas, turning her into a copy of Sora, but according to the notes that I discovered, she began absorbing Sora's strongest memories. The ones of you, Kairi. This caused her to look like you."

"Oh."

The raven-haired girl smiled shyly. "I always had a feeling that Roxas and Naminé would be restored, but I resigned myself to my fate and thought I would never come back."

"It wouldn't be the same without you." Roxas reached over and took her hand, gently.

Mickey looked around. "So, do you three know what's going on?"

"Mostly, and we want to help." Naminé wrung her hands. "Xehanort helped ruin our lives, so we will help."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Donald," Goofy calmly cut in, "They just got back. They're probably tired. We should give them time to rest first."

Everyone nodded at these words of wisdom. Lea stood up. "Well, Nami, Riku, and I know where the beds and bedsheets are(13), so we can set up a place to sleep for the night."

"You don't have to; we'll be fine."

"Xion, we want to." Kairi stood. "Goofy, why don't we go into town and get some food while they set up?"

"Alright, Kairi!"

* * *

"I see…"

Braig stretched. "Well, now that the puppet is back, what are we going to do?"

"I could speak to her," Repliku spoke up from his seat.

"You just want to see Naminé." Young Xehanort smirked. "Which could be useful. We could force her to mentally debilitate Sora."

Repliku's mouth twisted into a snarl. "You won't hurt her!"

Master Xehanort held up a hand. "Braig, take Repliku, Kaname, and Rimi to Twilight Town. I want Naminé and the puppet brought here. Kill Roxas."

"Yes, sir."

The members mentioned vanished as the old man turned his eyes on Terranort and another man, still hooded. "You, go and find Vanitas. He has run off." The two vanished. "Ansem, Xemnas. Go with my younger self and prepare what we discussed."

"You mean?"

Master Xehanort's eyes glimmered with an evil fire. "Yes… the invasion."

* * *

 **They're back!**

 **And please don't ask about the invasion… that information will come soon enough.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) They always seem to arrive on a weekend or in the summer, but the town would probably be quiet during the school year.

(2) Who knows who they are?

(3) These types of replicas are seen in the Kh2 manga.

(4) Another piece from the novel. Riku recognized the "scent" of himself in one of the pods, so I thought that this was a good assumption.

(5) Naminé knew or mostly knew in the novel.

(6) In the novel, after Axel grabbed Kairi, and she got taken by Saix, he was on death's door, and Naminé used her powers to save him from disappearing.

(7) This is taken from a scene from the novel, but I changed some of the descriptions for Ansem's PoV!

(8) The book describes her hair as 'flaxen', which is a yellowish-gray color.

(9) Happened in DDD.

(10) Naminé, Riku, and Axel all discovered DiZ's true identity in the novels by examining the computer in Hollow Bastion and in Twilight Town.

(11) In the novel, Ansem had a mini-fridge of ice cream under the computer in Twilight Town that Axel, Riku, and Naminé would raid all the time.

(12) If you compare Roxas and Ven's appearances, Ven's hair is a shade lighter.

(13) Lea, Riku, and Naminé hid out the mansion according to the novel.

* * *

 **Anxiety**

In today's time, anxiety is something that so many people deal with, including me.

I understand how it feels to be so worried and panicky about something. For me, it is social anxiety. And I am in a financial struggle which brings on anxiety.

I've learned much in these last few weeks, and Philippians 4:6 sums up everything that I've learned. " _Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God._ "

When we give our worries to God, we don't have to worry because He has them now. Even my social anxiety, I give it to Him and trust that He is with me when I feel alone and He will give me the friends I need and will give me the courage to step out of my comfort zone.

He can do the same for you.


	26. Chapter 26: Missions of Want

**Before we start…**

 **OHMYGOSHTHETWOKH3TRAILERSWEREAMAZING!**

 **Now, I've got that out of my system.**

 **Onto the chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Yamato © to Yamichaos27!**

 **Other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 26: Missions of Want**

* * *

Naminé walked up the stairs to her old room in the mansion. When she opened the doors, good and bad memories flooded into her mind. Pictures lined the walls and a sketchbook lay on the table, right where she left it.

"Wow, these are really good." Ven walked in behind her, looking around the drawings hanging on the walls.

"Thank you." The girl picked up her sketchbook and held it close to her heart. "I actually have quite a few fond memories here. This was the place where I full gained my heart. I just know it."

The bond boy walked around the room, looking at all the drawings. "This place is just like the "room" you created for us to talk in Sora's heart."

"Yeah." the girl knelt down, picking up a small box of crayons. "The others are waiting downstairs." The two walked back to where everyone but Goofy and Kairi sat. "I found my sketchbook, right where I left it." She sat down, slowly flipping through the pages, from the photos she drew in Castle Oblivion, to the last one she drew.

"I never saw that one." Lea smiled at the last drawing. The drawing was of the room they all sat in now. It depicted Naminé, Lea, and Riku all sitting on the couches eating ice cream; all of them bore smiles on their faces(1).

"You all look so happy here."

Lea smiled. "We were. In all the craziness going on, we found the slightest happiness here."

The doors opened as Kairi and Goofy came in carrying bags of food. "We're back!"

"It's about time!"

"Let's eat!" Everyone dug into their meals, and a strange sense of peace and joy hung over the old dusty mansion for the first time since Riku, Lea, and Naminé occupied it.

* * *

The next morning, Sora woke up to find Roxas missing. The boys found a large room and camped out in it the night before, and the girls did the same in another room. He got up and went outside to find the boy staring up at the sky. "Hey, you ok?"

"I guess… I just. It doesn't feel real. I keep thinking this is a dream and I'm going to wake up to find myself back in the Organization or in the fake Twilight Town."

Sora looked at his former Nobody's face. "I saw your memories. You've had a hard life."

"I mean, I'm glad to be back, but I still wonder, where can I go? I don't have a home… never have."

"You have plenty of options." The brown-haired boy grinned. "You could find a place here, go to Radiant Garden, or come live with my family!"

Roxas paused, looking at Sora. "I don't know… maybe."

"Things will work out." Both boys turned as Lea walked past them.

"Where are you going?"

"Running some errands. I'll be back." the redhead strode away, his strides long and full of an unknown purpose.

"Come on, Roxas, let's go back inside. The others will be getting up soon."

"Fine."

* * *

Lea walked through the town until he saw two familiar kids. "Hey!"

The boy and girl from the day before sat in the sandlot, one drawing, one writing. "Hey us?"

"Yeah." The pyro smiled. "Remember me?"

"From yesterday." the girl nodded. "You here to tell us about what went down in the mansion."

"Nope. I actually need your help. What're your names?"

"I'm Thomas, and this is my sister, Marie. And yours'?" The boy smiled.

"Lea."

"Nice to meet you, Lea. Now, how can we help you?(2)"

"Well…"

* * *

"I can't wear this dusty old coat forever." Xion looked down at her old Organization coat. "It'll make me look like one of Xehanort's goons."

Kairi grabbed her and Naminé's arms. "Then let's go shopping. Have some girl time. I'd love to get to know the two of you more. Wanna come, Aqua?"

"Sure." The young woman laughed.

Standing up, Ansem looked around. "Well, I guess I will let you all be. Even, Ienzo, and I should get back to Radiant Garden."

"Sounds good. We'll come by there soon."

Roxas watched the scientist leave. His eyes narrowed, as he was far from trusting the man after all he'd done. "So, what do we do now? Ax… I mean Lea is off doing something and the girls are gone too."

"We can talk." Riku leaned back against the couch. "You're not only real, but you're one of us now, so we should get to know you better. I know that I don't know you personally as well as I should."

"Guess so…"

"By the way," Ven piped up, "do you still have a Keyblade?"

Roxas nodded. "I actually have two. I got one from Xion(3), so I might have one again." He held out his hands and two Keyblades appeared: Oathkeeper and Oblivion. "Never mind… This means Xion might not have one anymore.

* * *

"Kairi, are you sure about this?"

"Just try it on!" The redhead handed her former Nobody a folded up white dress. "It comes with a pair of shorts and it's not as tight, so you can have more movement available."

The flaxen-haired girl bit her lip. "I don't even have a Keyblade, so why do I need this?"

"You might get a Keyblade one day, and you can't really fight in that tight dress."

Naminé looked down at the outfit and sighed before stepping into the changing room to put on the white dress that easily buttoned up in the front and had a polo-like collar. "I guess it looks alright…"

"Kairi, are you sure I can have this?" Xion looked at the bag that Kairi brought down from the gummi ship. She picked up a shirt with a circle of thalassa shells in the middle.

"Of course! I think the colors suit you. And we can get that jacket with the checkered sleeve to go over it. Then you and Roxas can match a little!"

Xion sighed and went to change. "Kairi," Aqua said, "You are very into this."

"I used to do this kind of thing with my friends Selphie and Owari. It was so much fun… I guess I kinda missed it."

"We can tell."

* * *

Lea slumped down onto one of the couches. "Where are the girls?"

"Shopping."

"Really…?" He looked around at the other guys. "Ok, you're serious."

"It's one of the ways that Kairi de-stresses. I know this because Riku and I have been dragged off to shop before." Sora laughed.

"Shh." Goofy shushed. "You'll wake him up."

They all looked over at another couch where Roxas lay, sleeping peacefully. "He's exhausted." Mickey crossed his arms. "Ansem said that this might happen. Their bodies are trying to adjust to being alive and their organs and everything are apparently still forming(4), so they need to rest a lot."

"That explains it…" Kairi, Aqua, Xion, and Naminé came into the room, the two recently reformed girls looked exhausted.

Ven helped Naminé to a couch and Aqua helped Xion to a chair. The two passed out almost immediately. "I didn't think they'd be this tired."

The three of them slept while the others conversed quietly. "How long are we going to stay here?"

"As long as we need to," Lea spoke quickly. "These three are in no shape to help us fight. Naminé doesn't even have a weapon, and we don't know about Xion. They need to be physically able to handle themselves before we go anywhere."

Everyone paused as Naminé moaned in her sleep, rolling over. Donald sighed. "Maybe we should go to another room."

"Yeah." Quietly, everyone got up and moved out of the small room, closing the door most of the way to muffle any noise made outside.

Roxas, Naminé, and Xion lay silent, unaware of anything around them. They didn't even notice the dark corridor opening up behind them.

* * *

 _Xion found herself standing by a crystal clear lake surrounded by silver-leaved trees. A waterfall cascaded down from some cliffs, but the sound was quiet, muffled, and peaceful._

" _Where am I?" She wanted to turn around and look at her surroundings, but a feeling of ease kept her still._

" _Don't worry," spoke a soft female voice. Two hands laid themselves on the girl's shoulders. "You're perfectly safe."_

" _W-who are you?"_

 _The woman grabbed Xion's right hand, revealing an arm covered by long, light-blue sleeves. "I'm here to help. You will need this." A Keyblade appeared in Xion's hand. It had spikes downwards along the shaft with a single guard on one side; On the other side of the guard hung a crescent moon with a star in the center, and from the end hung a golden star with silver corners._

" _A-a Keyblade?"_

" _You lost your own when you died before. It belongs to Roxas now, but you will need this for battle. It is called Seeker of the Stars. I have had it since I was small, and now I pass it on to you." The woman pulled back, leaving Xion with the blade._

* * *

Repliku knelt beside Naminé's sleeping form. "She hasn't changed much… still as beautiful as ever."

"Ok, lover boy, I'll leave you in charge of grabbing her." Braig looked at the other two. "Poppet hasn't changed either. Kaname, you grab her." He summoned his arrow guns. "I'll take Roxas."

A hand grabbed his arm. Rimi stood nearby, eyes fixed on the boy. A soft voice came from her lips. "D-don't… he's so innocent. Don't hurt him."

"Kaname… get your wife out of here."

The man looked up, from the one-eyed man to his wife, "Why?"

"Because I said so," Braig snarled, "She is getting in the way. We have orders, and she is trying to prevent me from following them."

Kaname stood up, taking his wife's hand. "Come…"

"No, he is going to hurt that child."

"Ok, that's it." Braig walked over to the couple and held up his hand. Darkness swirled around it and the golden eyes of the couple glowed for a moment, their posture straightened, and any semblance of emotion on their faces vanished.

Repliku looked up, frowning. "Do you have to do that? I like them…"

"Don't _you_ get soft on me now. We already took away your free will once! You're lucky we gave it back on the condition that you obey. Don't make us take it away again." Braig growled. "Take the girl and go."

* * *

 _Naminé found herself in a similar place: a hill with silver-leaved trees on the top and a field of white flowers glowing in the tall silver grass. "What is this place?"_

" _You'll find out soon enough." A strong woman's voice spoke as a hand grabbed Naminé's, covered by a long pink sleeve. "You need something to protect yourself. I've had this for years, and now it's yours." A Keyblade with a long shaft that turned into a wave appeared in Naminé's guard looked like brown vines with a purple flower at the top. They keychain looked like an orange flower. "It's called Embrace of Destiny."_

 _The flaxen-haired girl looked at it. "Wh-who are you?"_

" _A friend… now prepare yourself for battle!"_

" _B-battle?" Everything faded into light._

* * *

Naminé and Xion both opened their eyes at once. The dark-haired girl screamed at the sight of Braig holding the arrow gun over Roxas. Rimi and Kaname moved to grab the girl and Repliku grabbed Naminé.

The scream startled Braig and awoke Roxas, giving him just enough time to summon Oathkeeper and block the oncoming attack.

Xion held out her hand, to block Kaname's hand and, in a flash of light, Seeker of the Stars appeared.

Repliku pulled Naminé off the couch by her wrist. The girl recognized him and held out her hand, in which Embrace of Destiny appeared.

The door burst open and the rest of the group ran inside. "Well, this is just great!" Braig glared at Kaname and Rimi; the guard pushed his wife behind him, Dawn's Might out and ready to fight back. "This is all your fault! You'll suffer for this!"

"Mom! Dad!" Kairi ran to them, but the man swung at her, no recognition in his eyes.

Roxas jumped up, slashing at Braig as he summoned his second Keyblade. "What are you doing here!?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"You were going to shoot him!" Xion gripped her weapon. "While he was sleeping… I saw you."

Repliku held onto Soul Eater, looking at their enemies. His eyes met the real Riku's and then Naminé's "We are just here for Naminé and Xion…"

"You think we're just going to give them to you!?" Donald squawked.

"We're just going to take them…"

"Wait!" Repliku cried. "We'll leave Xion! Let me take Naminé. I won't hurt her! I swear, I won't let any harm come to her! A-and I'll release Kaname and Rimi! I know how!"

His fellow Organization member warped over to the boy, hitting him over the head. "Give a kid a little free will and he thinks he runs the place."

"Let him go!"

Two dark corridors opened, swallowing Kaname and Rimi and Braig and Repliku. "Mom! Dad!" Kairi reached for her parents as they disappeared.

Everyone stared at where their enemies stood until Roxas, Xion, and Naminé suddenly collapsed to the ground. Lea knelt down beside them. "You guys ok?"

"That took a lot of energy… but we're just fine. That was scary though."

The others helped the three back onto the couches. "Xion, Nami," Ven looked at the weapons that the girls held, "where did you get those Keyblades?"

"I was dreaming… this woman gave me her Keyblade."

"Me too!" Xion gasped.(5)

Sora's eyes widened. "Did your dream take place in a place that looked like nighttime and it had silver grass and trees?" Both girls nodded. "That's where I got my Keyblade." He summoned Key to the Kingdom.

"So, someone gave you two those Keyblades?" Aqua tapped her chin. "That's so strange."

"Should we be concerned?"

Mickey shook his head. "You three just rest. We'll figure this out eventually. Some of us will stay here with you, to make sure you're safe."

"Thanks…"

"No problem."

* * *

Lea looked around the underground tunnels in town as Thomas came towards him, holding a folder. "Hey, Lea."

"Thomas, how'd it go?"

"Great." He handed the pyro the folder. "My own family is interested. They'll be ready to meet tomorrow."

"Sounds good. Thanks for the help." Lea grinned. "See you in the morning, then?"

"See ya!"

As the boy left, Lea looked down at the folder. "You know," he looked over and saw Jeremiah Reach, Zidane, and Garnet, "We heard what you're planning...That's a really great thing you're doing."

"I just do what I can for my friends…"

* * *

The next afternoon, everyone made their way back to the gummi ship. The Yenlow Unversed yipped and spun in circles at their arrival.

"Aw!" Xion cooed.

"Meet Kyokan." Kairi picked up the Unversed. "Isn't he the cutest!?" Kyokan nuzzled her but stopped as the other girls began to pet him.

"I love the little guy!"

Roxas looked around. "This thing is a lot bigger than it looks, but are there any rooms left for us?"

"Well, we can add more when we go to Radiant Garden again." Sora put an arm around the shoulder of his former Nobody. "You can share a room with one of us guys for now."

"Not your room since Kairi comes by."

"Shut up, Lea!"

For the first time since his restoration, Roxas laughed. Lea joined him. "I'll put an extra bed in my room for now."

"Thanks, Ax… Lea." He cocked his head. "Though… Lea, what happened to Axel? If we had hearts, didn't your Nobody have one too?"

The pyro paused(6). "I asked Ansem about that. He said that my heart and Axel's merged. Your heart and Sora's didn't because you and he were so different. You really were two separate people, while Axel and I were virtually the same. Nothing distinguished us apart enough though." He let out another sigh. "Well, let's go set up that other bed. Kairi, Aqua, you two want me to set up beds in your rooms for the girls?"

"Go ahead…"

Lea quickly left the room, obviously put off by the earlier conversation, not that anyone could blame him. Discussing the death of another life would make anyone uncomfortable.

Kairi too left the room, Sora seeing the smiles she bore fading away as she left the Yenlow with Naminé and Xion. Sora followed her to her room. "You know, if you need to talk we could go to my room since Lea will be coming in soon."

"Sure...:" The two went inside the boy's room. Kairi sat on the bed, eyes turned towards the window.

"Let me guess, your parents?"

She looked at him, eyes dull and blank. "D-did you see their faces? They looked so lifeless. Are you even sure they can be saved? Is he just using their physical forms, or is there some semblance of their old selves still left?"

"There has to be." Sora clasped her hands in his. "Your dad still protects your mom as best he can, so there's got to be something of him left inside. There is hope. There is always hope." His arms wrapped around her as she leaned against him. "I mean… you want to talk about no hope. Roxas, Naminé, and especially Xion… they had no hope but look at them. They're all back. They have a chance at life. If they could be saved, I'm sure your parents can too!"

"Sora… thank you."

* * *

 **I wrote this all in one day…**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This is another piece from the novel.

(2) Those of you who read the original story can probably guess what's happening here.

(3) Roxas got his Keyblade after Xion died, so he got her weapon.

(4)I figured this would be a process. While the basics of life would form before waking, other body parts would take a little longer, and this would draw energy.

(5) I'm sure some of you figured out who the ladies were. 

(6) Yami mentioned this, and so I'm addressing this!

* * *

 _VAs:_

 _Mysterious Female 1- Kristi Kang (Yuzuki Fuwa, Tonko Onivama, Levy McGarden)_

 _Rimi Mae- Peyton McCormick (Rem Tokimiya, Kate Kostas, Penny, Niki)_

 _Kaname Mae- David Matranga (Tomoya Okazaki, Roderic, Shoto Tokoroki)_

 _Mysterious Female 2- Anastasia Munoz (Koko Hekmatyar, Minerva Orland)_

* * *

 **Pure Joy**

Now that the two new KH3 trailers came out today, and there was so much excitement. I myself freaked out, giving myself a headache as I held in my screams so as to not wake the others in my dorm. As joyful as the trailers made me and so many of you, there is an even greater joy to be found in God.

Romans 15:13 says, " _May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit._ "

There are many verses on joy in the Bible and I encourage you to go look more of them up. A verse of joy every day will show you the joy that comes from God that you can have!


	27. Chapter 27: Distant Galaxy- Podrace

**Back to the worlds!**

 **This will probably be a three part world like the old version, and sometimes people complain about which specific movie I chose, but it likes up with my timeline.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Star Wars (c) to Lucasfilms and Disney!**

 **OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Distant Galaxy- Podrace**

* * *

"Are you sure?"

"Sora," Roxas nodded. "We might as well help on other worlds. We're doing fine now. We've slept, we're well rested."

Sora smiled. "Fine. Guess we're just looking for another world." The two looked around at everyone else nearby.

Naminé sat in the pilot seat with Ven teaching her how to pilot the ship. "There we go, just keep the ship level. You're doing great!"

"Thanks!" She smiled as he laid his hands on hers, helping guide her flying.

Sora smirked. "Did you notice how well Ven and Naminé are getting along?"

"Yea," Roxas agreed, "It's kinda weird though. I mean they only just met."

"Actually," Aqua looked over at the boys. "They already knew one another."

"How?"

The Keyblade Master smiled, "Ven told me about it. Apparently, when she was repairing Sora's memories she discovered Ven's heart. She connected with it and the two spoke and got to know one another. They may have only just met physically, but they really had an entire year to get to know one another."

"Oh… I get it."

"Roxas!" Xion came over carrying the Yenlow. "Lea says that we're going to other worlds to help out. Is that right?"

"Yeah."

"I can't wait

Donald sat up near the front watching Ven and Naminé. He looked up at a nearby screen. "Hey, what's this. I've never seen this many worlds so close to one another."

"It's called a galaxy," Mickey explained. "Sometimes a group of worlds are drawn together in a large cluster. It is possible for the people in those worlds to travel between them but only in their galaxy.(1)"

Everyone heard this and came up to the front, watching the multiple worlds pass by quickly.

The ship flew among the system of planets for a number of hours; they came upon a bright world, surrounded by ships. "Wholly cow!" Lea let out a long whistle. "That's a blockade. Must be a war on."

"We have you on our screen," A robotic voice came over the comm. "State your intentions."

Riku replied, "We are just passing by, nothing else."

"Ship is of unknown make and design… acquiring." A jolt rocked the ship, moving it slowly towards the planet.

Ven grabbed the controls and tried to pull it away. "We're caught in a tractor beam! Sora, disembark us now!"

"You got it!"

A light shot the group down to the world, standing in the middle of a large beautiful city. They hid behind a building and looked out at the city square. Thousands of slim robots walked around and leading the people away as if they were prisoners. "An invasion!" Ven snarled.

A group of droids led a regal group of people in their direction. Suddenly, two men in brown robes jumped down. They drew out swords of energy and light and destroyed the robots. "Whoa…" One man held out his hand towards the droids and an invisible force knocked them back.

"It can't be!" Aqua gasped in surprise.

"We should leave the streets you're highness!" The older man, with brown hair and a beard, holding the green laser sword, in the robes said.

He was speaking to a woman in black clothes with her face painted white. She and her entourage followed. Just as they began to move, Water Core and Fluttering Heartless appeared around them.

"What are these creatures?"

Aqua jumped out first and summoned Master's Defender. The others followed her example and took out the Heartless. "Come on! We need to get outta sight." They all followed the group under an outcropping.

The older man in the robe turned to the black-clad woman. "We're ambassadors for the Supreme Chancellor."

"Your negotiations seemed to have failed, ambassador." Another man said.

"The negotiations never took place."

Sora suddenly noticed the non-human in the group. It approached the group; he had light brown amphibious skin, two long ears hung down his back, and his eyes poked up on short stalks. "Whosa are yousa?"

The blue-haired master approached all of them and gave a short bow, "I'm Keyblade Master Aqua and this is fellow Keyblade Master Riku. Also, this is Sora, Kairi, Lea, Roxas, Xion, Naminé, Ventus, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey."

The alien smiled, "Mesa Jar Jar Binks!"

"Keyblade Master?" The younger man in robes with short brown hair and a braid cocked his head.

"Obi-Wan!" the older man turned back to the queen, "Your Highness, we must make contact with the republic."

A guard stepped forward, "They've knocked out all our communications."

"Do you have transportation?" Riku asked.

The guard looked at the robed men who nodded. "In the main hanger. This way." He led them down an alleyway and into a hanger.

Riku turned to the men in robes, "Who are you?"

"I'm Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn and this is my padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Riku nodded "Ok… That woman is the Queen and the others are her fellow rulers and handmaidens?"

"She is Queen Amidala of the Naboo."

The main guard, Captain Panaka, cracked open a door to the main hanger; Riku and Qui Gon looked over his shoulder. "There are too many of them and there are some of those monsters."

"That won't be a problem," he turned to Queen Amidala, "Your Highness, under the circumstances, I suggest you come with to Coruscant with us."

"Thank you, Ambassador, but my place is with my people."

"They will kill you if you stay."

The governor, Bibble, cut in, "They wouldn't dare."

"Uh," Donald quacked, "they blockaded your planet, then invaded it, then took all your people captive, and took you captive. I think they would dare."

Captain Panaka ignored the duck, "They need her to sign a treaty to make this invasion of theirs legal; they can't afford to kill her."

"A legal invasion? Never heard that one before…"

Qui Gon persisted, "There is something else behind this. Theirs is no logic in the Federation's move here. My feeling tell me they will destroy you."

"Our only hope is for the Senate to side with us," Bibble agreed, "Senator Palpatine needs your help."

"Either choice presents a great risk… to us all…" the Queen turned to one of her handmaidens.

"We are brave, you're Highness."

"If you want to leave," Mickey said, "you should do it now."

The Queen sighed, "Then I will plead our case to the Senate." She turned to Bibble, who decided to stay behind, "Be careful Governor."

The queen, her handmaidens, the Jedi, Captain Panaka, and the group strode into the hanger. In the corner stood six battle droids and five Sergeant Heartless guarding a group of captured people. Captain Panaka pointed, "We need to free those pilots."

"I'll deal with that," Obi-Wan made his way towards the captives followed by a curious Roxas.

A droid captain stopped them. "Halt!"

"I'm Ambassador for the Supreme Chancellor, and I'm taking these people to Coruscant."

"Where are you taking them?"

"To Coruscant."

The droid seemed confused, "Coruscant… uh… that doesn't compute… oh… wait… um… you're under arrest!" Before anyone could think, Qui Gon and the Keybearers drew their weapons and attacked. Roxas and Obi-Wan attacked the guards around the prisoners.

"Go!" Everyone not fighting climbed aboard a shiny, sleek ship. The rest of the group filed in as more droids entered the room. The ship hummed to life and blasted out of the hanger.

Riku followed one of the men to the cockpit. "Hey," the Keyblade Master held out his hand, "I'm Riku."

"Ric Olie…" the man shook it. "You know how to fly one of these?"

"It's not too different from our gummi ship." He punched a few buttons and looked at the screen. "There's the blockade."

Qui Gon, Captain Panaka, and Aqua came in and watched as the Federation ships began firing at the lone cruiser. Lasers impacted the ship, rocking it with an explosion. "Shield generator's been hit!"

Obi-Wan came and looked at a tiny screen showing some robots gathered around the damaged part of the ship; passing lasers destroyed droid after droid. "We're losing droids fast!"

"Our shields are gone!" Ric called.

Aqua watched as a tiny blue Astro Droid continued to work. Suddenly the screens turned from red to green. "He did it!"

"Power's back!" The pilot smiled, "That little droid did it. He bypassed the main power drive. Deflector shields up at maximum." Once out of the blockade, they shot away. "There's not enough power to get us to Coruscant. The hyperdrive is leaking."

"We'll have to land somewhere to refuel and repair the ship."

The young Jedi looked at a screen and turned to his master, "Here Master, Tatooine. It's small, out of the way, poor… the Trade Federation has no presence there."

"How can you be sure?"

"It's controlled by the Hutts…"

Aqua raised an eyebrow, "The Hutts?"

Panaka narrowed his eyes, "You can't take Her Royal Highness there! The Hutts are gangsters. If they discovered her there…"

"It would be no different than if we landed on a system controlled by the Trade Federation, except the Hutts aren't looking for her, which gives us the advantage."

Aqua and Riku looked at one another before leaving; the rest of the group stood in the back of the ship. The older girl let out a sigh. "We really need to talk."

"About what?"

"Do you know who Master Qui Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are?"

Lea shrugged, "They called themselves Jedi, but I don't know what that is."

"Yes," the girl nodded, "They are called Jedi. From the time of the Keyblade War, there has been another peacekeeping order, almost parallel to the Keyblade Order. It is the Jedi Order."

"What is the Jedi Order?" Xion picked at the cuff of her sleeve.

"Well…" The main door opened and one of the handmaidens came in with the little droid that saved the ship, R2-D2.

"Oh! I'm sorry…"

Kairi smiled, "It's fine, come in."

"Thank you," the girl came in and began cleaning the dirty little robot. "Why are you here?"

Sora scratched his head, "Well, we were actually just passing by when the blockade stopped us. Good thing it did though; now we can help here. Oh, I forgot, what's your name?"

"I'm…"

"Hidoe!" everyone jumped at the voice. It was Jar Jar. "Sorry, nomeanen to scaren yousa."

"It's cool…"

His eyes looked down at the handmaiden, "Whosa are yousa?"

"I'm Padme," she smiled at all those around her.

"Mesa Jar Jar Binks!"

The girl's eyes filled with confusion, "You're a Gungan aren't you?" Jar Jar nodded. "How'd you end up here with us?"

The alien sighed, "My no know… mesa day starten pitty okeyday witda brisky morning munchen. Den boom! Getten berry skeered, un grabben dat Jedi, and pow! Mesa here. Mesa getten berry berry skeered."

No one could help smiling at the Gungan. Mickey turned to Padme and asked, "So do you know where we're headed?"

"We're supposed to be going to the capital of the Republic, Coruscant, but our ship is damaged. We will be landing on a planet in the outer rim called Tatooine to repair."

The door opened and Obi-Wan poked his head in. "Master Aqua, Master Riku, Master Qui Gon wants to speak with you."

"We'll be right there." Looking down at Mickey, Riku sighed. "Mickey, do you think you could talk to the queen, one monarch to another?"

"I'll try."

The two young masters nodded and followed the Jedi to where his master awaited them. "You wanted to see us, Master Qui Gon?"

"Yes," he nodded. "It has been many years since we last heard from the Keyblade wielders. The last ones we were in contact with were Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort."

"Master Eraqus… was my Master. He… he is dead." Aqua choked out. "He's been dead for thirteen years now."

"I am sorry."

Obi-Wan looked at them, "What about Master Xehanort?"

"I wish he was dead!" Riku clenched his fists. "That psycho is trying to bring about an apocalypse, and we're trying to stop him."

Qui Gon nodded. "Once we repair the ship, we will go to Coruscant. I'm sure the Jedi Council will want to speak with you."

"Of course."

* * *

The ship landed on the desert planet, on the outskirts of a settlement. Obi-Wan and Mickey inspected the hyperdrive generator. Qui Gon, Aqua(2), R2, and Sora walked in after them. "The Hyperdrive generator is gone. We will need a new one."

"That'll make things complicated."

"Be wary," the Jedi Master told his padawan, "I sense a disturbance in the Force."

"I feel it also, Master."

"Don't let them send any transmissions," he left with the Keybearers. Qui Gon, Jar Jar, R2, Aqua, Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Xion headed towards the exit ramp. The small group trekked across the sand towards the city.

"Wait!" They turned and saw Captain Panaka with Padme, now dressed in a ragged peasant garb. "Her Highness commands you to take her handmaiden with you."

"I don't think that's such a great idea."

Qui Gon agreed, "No more commands from Her Highness today. This spaceport is not going to be pleasant…"

"The Queen wishes it." Panaka changed his approach, "She's curious about the planet."

"This is not a good idea."

Xion looked over at the other girl "Stay close to us."

They walked down the streets of the Mos Espa spaceport, surrounded by dangerous looking humans and aliens. "…moisture farms for the most part, but also a few indigenous tribes and scavengers. The few spaceports like this one are havens for those who do not wish to be found."

"Like us…"

They found a small plaza further in town with junk dealers everywhere. "We'll try one of the smaller dealers." The group went into a shop with a large pile of destroyed spaceships behind it.

A blue alien around Donald's size with tiny little wings sat on the counter. He flew up and spoke in an alien language, which Qui Gon understood. " _Hi cuba de naga?_ (3) (What do you want?)"

"I need parts for a J-type 327 Nubian."

"Ah Nubian!" the alien, Watto said, "We have lots of that." " _Peedenkel! Naba dee unko!_ (Boy, get in here! Now!)"

The Jedi continued, "My droid has a readout of what I need."

A skinny young boy with blonde hair, a dirty face, and ragged clothes came running in from outside. " _Coona tee-tocky malia?_ (What took you so long?)"

" _Mel tassa cho-passa!_ (I was cleaning the bin like you said!)"

" _Chut-chut! Ganda doe wallya. Me dwana no bata._ (Never mind! Watch the store, I've got some selling to do here." The blue creature turned back to Qui Gon, "So… let me take-a you out back. We'll find what you need."

R2, Qui Gon, and Aqua followed him into the junkyard. The boy sat on the store counter, cleaning a machine part and watching the group, mainly Padme. "Are you an angel?"

"What?" The handmaiden giggled at the question.

"An angel," the boy continued, "I heard the deep space pilots talk about them. They're the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They live on the moons of Iego, I think."

"If that's not flirting, I don't know what is?" Kairi whispered to Sora.

Padme just smiled, "You're a funny little boy. How do you know so much?"

"I listen to all the traders and star pilots that come through here." He looked up from his cleaning, "I'm a pilot you know, and someday I'm gonna fly away from this place."

Roxas smirked, "You're a pilot?"

"Uh huh, all my life."

Xion leaned against the counter. "How long have you been here?"

"Since I was very little, three I think," his eyes grew sad, "My Mom and I were sold to Gardulla the Hutt, but she lost us betting on the Podraces."

At this, everyone paused. "Y-you're a slave?"

"I'm a person and my name is Anakin!"

"I'm sorry…" the Princess of Heart blushed in embarrassment, "We don't fully understand. This is a strange place to us."

Roxas turned and left the store with Xion following behind. "Roxas?"

"You too?"

"Yeah," the boy ran a hand through his hair. "I don't understand people with hearts, even though I have one. How do people with hearts act so… heartless? They keep other people as property."

Xion took his hand in her own. "I know, and thinking about it, were we any better than slaves when we worked under Xemnas?"

"Guess not."

* * *

Watto looked at a little datapad in his hands as he spoke with Aqua and the Jedi Master following behind. "A T-14 hyperdrive generator! You're in luck, I'm the only one hereabouts who has one… but, you might as well by a new ship. It would be cheaper, I think… Saying of which, how's you going to pay for all this?"

"I have 20,000 Republic dataries."

"Republic credits?" The alien scoffed, "Republic credits are no good out here. I need something more real."

"I don't have anything else," Qui Gon stopped and waved his hand, "But credits will do fine."

"No, they won't!"

The Jedi waved his hand again, "Credits will do fine."

"No, they won't!" Watto persisted, "What you think you're some kind of Jedi, waving your hand around like that? I'm a Toydarian. Mind tricks don't work on me… only money. No money, no parts, no deal! And no one else has a T-14 hyperdrive, I promise you that."

Aqua looked at the Jedi for a response; the man only smiled and turned away.

The group stood around hearing Anakin's story, "I wouldn't have last long if I wasn't so good at fixing things."

Qui Gon and Aqua reentered. "We're leaving…"

The others looked at the boy, "It was good to meet you Anakin."

"I was glad to meet you too!"

They walked out and found a quiet, shady spot between two buildings. Qui Gon stood to the side speaking to his padawan on the comlink as the others talked. "All right. I'm sure another solution will present itself."

The Gungan shook his head as the Jedi came back over to the group. "Noah gain… da beings hereabouts… cawazy! Wesa be robbed un crunched!"

"Not likely," Aqua huffed, "We have nothing of value, that's our problem."

"I wish we could have brought Anakin with us."

Xion nodded, "I do too. No one, especially not a nice little kid like him deserves a life like that."

"Like what?"

Padme looked at the other young woman, "That boy, Anakin, he's not just a worker in that shop, he's that guy's property… he's a slave."

"A slave!" Aqua paused, thinking of the sweet boy she'd seen for only a moment.

"Come on," Qui Gon left the alley with the others following.

Roxas walked at the back with Jar Jar. The Gungan saw a rack of dead frogs for sale. He whipped out his frog-like tongue and grabbed one, pulling it into his mouth.

"Jar Jar!"

The boy backed up as the vendor appeared from around the cart. " _Ey, a wanna wanga? Et sevo wupi._ (Hey, are you going to pay for that? It's seven wupi.)

The Gungan spat it back out. The dead frog flew off and landed in the stew of a dangerous looking alien. The two quickly walked away. "Now you did it, you idiot!"

The creature tackled the helpless Gungan. " _Ni chuba na?_ (Is this yours?)"

"Who mesa?" The other alien choked Jar Jar.

By this time, the others in Roxas's group had noticed the struggle. Before anyone got involved, a voice said, " _Chess ko, Sebulba._ (Careful Sebulba.)" It was Anakin; he looked at the alien, Sebulba and smirked. " _Geesa cha porko ootman. Me teesa rodda co pana pee choppa chawa._ (This one's a big time outlander. I'd hate to see you get diced before we race again.)"

" _Neek me chowa, peedenkel, mo killee ma klonkee. Una noto wo shag, me wompity du pom pom._ (Next time we race, boy, it will be the end of you. If you weren't a slave, I'd squash you right now.)" Sebulba growled as he got off Jar Jar and left.

Anakin called after him, " _Eh, chee bana do mullee ra._ (Yeah, it'd be a pity if you had to pay for me.)" As the rest of the group approached, a bright smile decorated the boy's features. "Hi! You're buddy here was about to be turned into orange goo. He picked a fight with a Dug. An especially dangerous Dug called Sebulba."

"Nosir, nosir," the Gungan protested, "Mesa hate crunchen. Dat's da last ting mesa wants."

"Anakin's right," Roxas huffed, "You were headed for trouble."

"Thanks, my young friend."

The group continued to walk down the street, this time with Anakin beside them.

* * *

The Riku stood outside the spaceship with Obi-Wan. The wind picked up, creating a sandstorm. Lea came out of the ship and joined them.

"This storm will slow them down."

"Yea," the pyro agreed, "looks pretty bad. We'd better seal the ship."

Ven came running out of the ship, breathing heavily, "Guys! They just received a transmission from Naboo!"

"We'll be right there." The Jedi and Keybearers went back into the ship as quick as they could.

* * *

Walking around the massive city, anyone could get lost. One moment the group found themselves in a junk dealer plaza and now surrounded by food stands. "Hey, you'll like these pallies." He handed each of them a little brown fruit. "Here!"

"Thank you." Qui Gon slipped it into his robe, showing his lightsaber for an instant.

"Gracious, my bones are aching," the shop owner lady said, "Storm's coming on, Annie. You'd better get home quick."

"Do you have shelter?"

Qui Gon answered the boy, "We'll head back to our ship."

"Is it far?"

"It's on the outskirts," Sora admitted.

Anakin shook his head, "You'll never reach the outskirts in time. Sandstorms are very, very dangerous. Come on. I'll take you to my place."

As they walked, the wind kicked up and sand blew everywhere. They soon entered a small house. "Mom! Mom! I'm home!" A woman with brown hair came into the room, surprised to see her house full of strange people. "These are my friends, Mom."

"Oh, dissent cozy."

"I'm Qui Gon Jinn, this is Padme, Aqua, Sora, Kairi, Roxas, Xion, and Jar Jar. Your son was kind enough to offer us shelter."

The boy grabbed Padme's hand. "I'm building a droid. You wanna see?" He pulled her off to another room.

Roxas and Xion went to the windows, watching the sandstorm outside. "Remember when there was a big sandstorm in Agrabah?"

"Yeah, and then Genie got rid of it." The two giggled.

"Look at them," Kairi whispered. "They seem happy."

Sora sat down beside her. "I know. I wish we could've helped them sooner, and I wish I'd known about Xion."

"We all do." Kairi looked around the small home, he eyes looking up at Aqua. "So, what's the plan from here?"

"We stick with Qui Gon and the others until we can get our ship back. It's all we can do."

* * *

Those on the ship gathered in the Queen's chambers with Obi-Wan to watch the transmission. Governor Bibble appeared in a broken transmission. " _The death toll is catastrophic! We must bow to their wishes! You must contact me!_ "

"It's a trick!" Riku promptly stated.

"Yes," Agreed Obi-Wan, "Send no reply… send no transmission of any kind."

* * *

The group gathered around the table as the sandstorm buffeted the outside. Anakin's mother, Shmi poured herself a drink and sat down. "All slaves have transmitters placed inside their bodies somewhere."

"I've been working on a scanner to try and locate mine." Anakin shoved some food into his mouth.

"Any attempt to escape…"

"And they blow you up… BOOM!" The boy banged his fist on the table.

"That's… horrible!"

"I can't believe there's still slavery in the galaxy," Padme looked at their hosts, shocked, "The Republic's anti-slavery laws…"

"The Republic doesn't exist out here." Shim interrupted, "We must survive on our own."

A pained silence hung in the air for a few moments until Anakin spoke. "Has anyone ever see a Podrace?"

Everyone but Shmi and Qui Gon shook their heads. "They have Podracing on Malastare." The Jedi looked at the boy, "Very fast, very dangerous."

"I'm the only human who can do it."

Roxas looked over, "You must be really good then."

"Yes, you must have Jedi reflexes if you race Pods." Qui Gon smiled. As if just to prove his point, Jar Jar's tongue shot out, and Qui Gon caught it between his fingers. "Don't do that again…"

"You're a Jedi Knight, aren't you?" Anakin looked up.

"What makes you think that?"

The boy looked directly at Qui Gon. "I saw your laser sword. Only Jedi carry that kind of weapon."

"Perhaps I killed a Jedi and took it from him."

Anakin shook his head, "I don't think so. No one can kill a Jedi."

"I wish that were so…" Qui Gon's smile fell slightly.

"I had a dream I was a Jedi," the child said slowly, "I came back here and freed all the slaves… Have you come to free us?"

"No… I'm afraid not."

Anakin looked at the others. "Are you Jedi too?"

"No," Aqua shook his head, "close, but no. We're Keyblade wielders."

"Have you come to free us?"

Kairi bit her lip, squeezing Sora's hand under the table, "No… we didn't…"

"I think you have… why else would you be here?" Anakin persisted.

Qui Gon leaned back in his chair, "I can see there's no fooling you. We're on our way to Coruscant, the central system in the Republic."

"How'd you end up all the way out here in the outer rim?"

"Our ship was damaged," Padme explained, "and we're stranded here until we can repair it."

The boy's face lit up. "I can help! I can fix anything!"

"I'm sure you can," Xion ruffled his hair, "but first we need to acquire the parts we need."

"Wit no-nutten mula to trade."

"These stupid junk dealers must have some sort of weakness." Roxas huffed.

"Gambling," Shmi sighed, "Everything around her revolves around betting on those awful races."

"Podracing…" the wheels in Aqua's mind turned, "Greed can be a powerful ally."

"I've built a racer!" Anakin cut in, "It's the fastest ever! There's a big race tomorrow on Boonta Eve. You could enter my pod…"

"Anakin! Watto won't let you!" His mother cut in.

The boy protested, "Watto doesn't know I've built it." He looked over at Qui Gon, "You could make him think it was yours, and you could get him to let me pilot it for you."

"I don't want you to race." His mother's face fell, "It's awful. I die every time Watto makes you do it."

"But Mom, I love it… and the prize money would more than pay for the parts they need."

"Anakin…"

"Your Mom's right," Sora sighed.

"Is there anyone friendly to the Republic who might be able to help us?" Qui Gon asked. Shmi shook her head slowly.

Anakin looked at his mother, "Mom, you said the biggest problem in this universe is that nobody helps each other…"

Padme turned to the worn out woman, "I'm sure Qui Gon doesn't want to put your son in danger. We will find some other way."

"No," Shmi shook her head in defeat, "There is no other way. I may not like it, but he can help you… he was meant to help you."

* * *

The storm finally subsided; Anakin left to go back to work and to put their plan into action. As they approached Watto's shop, Padme stopped. "Are you sure about this? Trusting our fate to a boy we hardly know. The Queen will not approve."

"The Queen doesn't need to know," the Jedi smirked.

"Well, I don't approve…"

Qui Gon, Aqua, Sora, and Roxas walked into the shop, met by Anakin and Watto met them. "The boy tells me you want to sponsor him in the race. How can you do this? Not on Republic credits, I think."

"My ship will be the entry fee." He pulled out a device and showed a hologram of the Naboo cruiser.

"Not bad… not bad… a Nubian."

Aqua continued for Qui Gon, "It's in good order, except for the parts we need.

"But what will the boy ride?" Watto seemed in on the idea, "He smashed up my Pod in the last race. It will take some time to fix it."

Anakin looked embarrassed, "It wasn't my fault, really! Sebulba flashed me with his vents. I actually saved the Pod… mostly."

"That you did," the blue alien admitted with a chuckle, "The boy's good, no doubts there."

"Well, I have acquired a Pod in a game of chance. 'The fastest ever made'."

"I hope you didn't kill anyone I know for it." The alien asked as Qui Gon smirked. "So, you supply the Pod and the entry fee; I supply the boy. We split the winnings fifty-fifty."

Aqua stepped forward, "If it's going to be fifty-fifty, maybe you should front the cash for the entry fee."

"Yes, if we win, you keep all the winnings, minus the cost of the parts I need. If we lose, you keep my ship… either way, you win."

The alien stroked his chin. "Deal!"

* * *

Riku and Mickey stood outside the spaceship with Obi-Wan, listening to Qui Gon over the comlink. "What if this plan fails, Master? We could be stuck here for a very long time."

" _A ship without a power supply will not get us anywhere, and there's something about this boy…_ "

* * *

Aqua, Qui Gon, and Shmi stood on the porch looking over the courtyard where the others, including the droid Anakin, build, C-3P0, working on Anakin's Podracer.

"You should be proud of your son." The Jedi told Shmi, "He gives without any thought of reward."

The woman smiled, "He knows nothing of greed. He has…"

"He has special powers."

"Yes…"

Qui Gon explained, "He can see things before they happen. That's why he appears to have such quick reflexes. It's a Jedi trait."

"He deserves better than a slave's life." His mother looked at her son sadly.

Aqua sighed, "No one deserves a slave's life…"

Qui Gon looked down at the boy, "Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early. The force is unusually strong with him, that much is clear. Who was his father?"

"There was no father," Shmi said. "I carried him, I gave birth to him, I raised him… I can't explain what happened. Can you help him?"

"I don't know," the Jedi admitted, "I didn't actually come here to free slaves."

Down in the courtyard, five other children came over. "Guys," Anakin smiled to Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Xion, "These are my friends Kitster, Seek, Amee, Cosmo, and Wald."

Kitster pointed to R2, "Wow, a real Astro Droid! How'd you get so lucky?"

"That isn't the half of it," the boy bragged, "I'm entered in the Boonta Race tomorrow!"

"What? With this?"

Wald laughed, " _Jesko no joka, Annie._ (You're such a joker, Annie)"

"You've been working on that thing for years," added Amee.

"It's not gonna run," put in Cosmo.

"Come on, let's go play ball." Seek led the others off, "Keep racing, Annie, and you're gonna be bug squash." They laughed as everyone but Kitster left.

"Jerks…"

"Hey," Sora thought, "What if Aqua joined the race to make sure you don't end up as 'bug squash'?"(4)

"But she doesn't have a Pod…"

Kairi followed her friend's thought process. "She could use her glider. The only problem is that we have to pay the entry fee…"

"We'll figure it out!"

The boy smiled; he looked back at the Gungan near the energy binders. "Hey Jar Jar!" The alien dropped the tool in his hands. "Stay away from those energy binders. If your hand gets caught in the beam, it'll go numb for hours."

As if just to prove the boy right, the Gungan knelt down to pick up the tool, and his head came up into the purple energy beam. It zapped him and his whole face went numb. His words became garbled. "Oh… my tung is wumb my tung…" His tool fell between the turbine blades. Jar Jar stuck his hand in to grab it. The tool fell out, and his hand became stuck. "Hwelp…" Xion and Kairi walked over and began pulling on his hand to get it out.

"But you don't even know if this thing will run."

"It will."

Aqua and Qui Gon came over. "Of course it will."

"Use this power charge."

"Yes, sir." Anakin plugged it in.

Sora stepped away, staring at Aqua. "Hey, you think you could join the race too and use your glider to help Anakin?"

"Yeah, but only if I can make up the entry fee."

"We'll figure it out."

Anakin jumped in the capsule behind the two giant engines. Everyone backed away, except for the girls who were still trying to free the Gungan; Eventually, they freed him.

Once stood clear of the vehicle, the boy started the Pod and, it hummed to life. "IT'S WORKING! IT'S WORKING!"

"YEAH!"

* * *

After night fell, Qui Gon and Anakin sat out on the porch, watching the stars and talking. As the boy went to bed and the Jedi went inside, Aqua, Roxas, and Xion went out on the porch. Shmi came out and stood beside them. "Are you three alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Why do you ask?"

"You three stood out to me. You seem to understand our situation better than the others..."

"So you noticed," Aqua turned her eyes to the stars. "I may not have been a slave, but I look at your lives, and I see my family. I grew up poor, nearly in slavery, so seeing you and Anakin brings back memories."(5)

Shmi smiled, "I could tell. And you two younger ones, the way you talk and act when Anakin and I mention our slavery. You seem angry and understanding; as if you know what it's like."

"Is it that obvious?" Roxas smirked. "You're right. We were never enslaved in the way that you and Anakin are but you're correct. We worked for horrible people, but we never knew any better. We did what we were told, but eventually, we found our own way."

"I'm sorry… truly." Shmi looked over at him sadly, "I don't know about me but, I think Anakin will find freedom like you did"

"Your day of freedom will come someday too."

"Thank you, Xion…"

* * *

Aqua, Qui Gon, and Jar Jar went to the raceway the next day to meet Wato before the race. The blue alien grinned confidently the entire time. "I want to see your ship the moment the race is over."

"Patience my blue friend. You'll have your winnings before the suns set and we'll be far away from here."

"Not if your ship belongs to me," Watto smirked, "I warn you, no funny business."

"You don't think Anakin will win?" Aqua asked.

"Don't get me wrong. I have great faith in the boy. He's a credit to your race, but Sebulba there is going to win, I think." Over to the side stood the same alien that Anakin kept from pounding Jar Jar.

Qui Gon asked, "Why?"

"He always wins." Watto chuckled, "I'm betting heavily on Sebulba."

"I'll take that bet."

"What? What do you mean?"

Aqua caught on to Qui Gon's thoughts. "We wager the new racing pod against… the boy and his mother."

"No pod is worth two slaves! Not by a long shot!"

Qui Gon compromised, "The boy, then…"

"Well… um…" the trader mused. "We'll let fate decide." Watto pulled out a small cube with red and blue colored sides. "I just happen to have a chance cube. Blue it's the boy, red his mother…"

He dropped the cube. It rolled across the floor; Qui Gon lifted his hand and the cube turned with a blue side up. Aqua gave a sigh of relief; Anakin could be free.

Watto looked from the cube to the Jedi angrily, "You won the small toss, outlander, but you won't win the race, so it makes no difference."

As the alien flew off, Aqua smiled, "I'm glad we could do that. I just wish we could've freed his mother too."

They turned back to the entrance as the others came into the pod hanger; they were riding some camel-like creatures called Eopies. Two Eopies pulled in Anakin's pod. As the Eopies sat down to let the others off, Watto flew by the boy and chuckled, " _Bonapa keesa pateeso, o wanna meetee chobodd._ (Better stop your friends' betting, or I'll end up owning him, too.)"

"What did he mean by that?"

Qui Gon smiled at the boy, "I'll tell you later."

Xion looked up at the older girl. "What's going on, Aqua?"

"I'll tell you guys later. So, Sora, did you get the cash?"

"Yup," He held up a bag of credits. "Some dude collected rare munny. Kairi and I gave him everything you and we had. There's just enough for you to enter the race. We even found a cover for us. We made it so that you're supposed to be from a planet called Varl."

"That will work." The master took the bag from them and went to pay the fee.

Kitster came over to Anakin, "This is so wizard, Annie! I'm sure you'll do it this time."

"Do what?"

"Finish the race, of course."

"You've never won a race?" Padme asked in surprise.

"Well… not exactly…"

Roxas raised an eyebrow, "Not even finished?"

Anakin gave a sheepish smile. "Kitster's right, I will this time."

"Of course you will."

* * *

Anakin and Aqua stood down on the racetrack. The young master stood in her armor, glider hovering beside her. The announcer, a two-headed alien, stood in a box above the track and stands; one head spoke in an alien language and the other spoke in the basic language. " _Toogie! Toogie! Toong mee cha kulkah du Boonta magi! Tah oos azalus ooval Poddraces._ (Greetings! We have perfect weather today for the Boonta classic. The most hazardous of all Podraces.)"

"That's absolutely right. And a big turnout here, from all corners of the Outer Rim territories. I see the contestants are making their way out onto the track."

" _La yma beestoo!_ (Yes, there they are!)"

"I see Ben Quadinaros from the Tund system."

" _Eh Gasgano doowa newpa Ord Petrovia!_ (And Gasgano in the new Ord Pedrovia.)"

"Two-time winner, Boles Roor!"

" _Poo tula moosta, woe grane champion Sebulba du Pixelito! Splatyleeya bookie ookie!_ (On the front line is the reigning champion, Sebulba from Pixelito. By far the favorite today.)"

"And, one of two late entries, Anakin Skywalker, a local boy."

" _Wampa peedunkee unko._ (I hope he has better luck this time.)" " _Eh bui twid kundeer, Aqua Maris du Dantooine._ (And first-time racer, Aqua Maris from Varl.)"

"YEAH!" The other Keybearers cheered happily, "Go Aqua! Go, Annie!"

"I see the flags are moving out onto the track."

" _O grandio lust, Jabba Du Hutt!_ (His honor, our glorious host, Jabba the Hutt!)" On a balcony above appeared a giant slug-like creature.

"That's Jabba?"

"Yep…"

The slug alien straightened up and spoke in a loud voice. " _Chowbaso! Ka bazza kundee hodrudda!_ (Welcome! Let the race begin!)"

Sebulba came over to Anakin and smirked, " _Bazda wahota, shag. Dobiella Nok. Yoka to Bantha poodoo._ (You won't walk away from this one, slave scum! You're Bantha poodoo.)"

" _Cha skrundee da pat, sleemo._ (Don't count on it, slime-ball.)"

"All set?" Qui Gon lifted the boy into the pod. "Remember, concentrate on the moment. Feel, don't think. Trust your instincts."

"I will…"

"May the Force be with you."

The Jedi left and the pods hummed to life. Aqua nodded to the others on the sidelines as she mounted her glider.

The others entered the viewing platform."Is he nervous?" Shmi asked.

"He's fine."

Padme huffed. "You Jedi are far too reckless. The Queen…"

"The Queen trusts my judgment, young handmaiden." The Jedi replied, "You should too."

"You assume too much…"

"START YOUR ENGINES!" The engines revved at a deafening roar. Jabba the Hutt bit the head off a frog and spit it at a gong. As the sound reverberated across the arena, a green light lit up over the raceway. The pods shot forward.

" _A dare ovv!_ (And they're off!)"

Anakin's pod went a little way and then stopped. "Oh no!"

"Oh… wait. Little Skywalker has stalled."

Roxas hung his head, "Come on!"

After a moment of flipping switches, the engine reignites and he shot off. "And there goes Skywalker. He'll be hard-pressed to catch up with the leaders."

Further down the track, Aqua flew along. The corners were tight and she had to be very quick, or she would smash into canyon walls. Her battle instincts took over, and she managed to handle the track without much difficulty. She hung around the middle of the group waiting for Anakin's pod to arrive in order to act as backup for him.

They went through a tunnel into a large gully. Above them, shots began raining down.

* * *

They watched as shots ricocheted off the racer's pods. The announcer hissed in annoyance, "Looks like a few Tusken Raiders have camped out on the canyon dune turn."

A few minutes later the pods came screaming back into the arena. " _Sebulba! Ka pa me cheespa wata!_ (Here comes Sebulba in record time.)"

"There's Aqua!"

Kairi looked back down the track, "Where's Anakin?"

"Look, here he comes!"

The boy pulled ahead of another pod just as he came through the arena. "Looks like Skywalker is moving up the field."

"YEAH!"

"GO ANNIE!" The two rounded the corner and kept going. "One lap down, two to go…"

Aqua turned her head and saw Anakin coming up behind her. She moved to tail Anakin slightly

Sebulba turned his head and snarled, " _Bazda wahota, shag, sleemo._ (You won't walk away, slime-ball.)"

Suddenly a swirl of darkness appeared behind the Dug. A large Heartless appeared. It was a slim lizard with red scales, long talons, and large bat wings. The Zilo Beast Heartless(6) snarled and bared its fangs.

"I have to let Anakin win…" As the beast flew closer, Aqua charged and drove the end of his glider into its gut. Pulling back, she moved to slash at its sides. The Heartless' left hind-leg came up, barely missing her. She got a few more slashes before the creature turned its eyes on Anakin's pod. "I have to end this now!" Aqua flew up high and dove downward. She dismissed her glider and drew out Master's Defender Keyblade, raising the sword over her head as she fell. "TAKE THIS!" The young Master slammed her blade into the Zilo Beast's head, killing the monster. A heart floated away. Aqua was not able to resummon her glider before she hit the ground. Anakin zipped after Sebulba. "It's all up to you Anakin… don't let us down."

* * *

The others watched as the young Keyblade Master fought off the Heartless.

Anakin now trailed behind Sebulba. "Now that the monster is gone… let's get back to the race." The only two pods left flew into the arena. "At the start of the third and final lap, Sebulba is in the lead, closely followed by Skywalker!"

The crowd erupted in cheers. "YOU GOT THIS ANNIE!"

The two pods sped away into the distance. They watched on the hand-held screens as the race turned ugly. Sebulba rammed into Anakin, forcing the boy off the raceway.

"Skywalker is forced onto the service ramp!"

The boy rammed through a barrier and went up a large ramp. His pod flew into the air. He pressed a few switches and propelled himself forward at breathtaking speeds, passing Sebulba.

"Amazing! A controlled thrust and he's back on course! What a move!"

The Dug fought to regain first place. He pressed Anakin's pod to its limit, trying to stop him. A piece of the pod, the same one that Sebulba had knocked out of place earlier, began to come loose. The piece snapped off, causing the engine to catch fire and one of the turbines to cut out. Smoke blew backward, making Sebulba cough.

He pulled away and in front of the boy. Anakin worked frantically to fix it. He managed to stop the fire and get his engine back up and running. It took him no time at all to catch up with Sebulba.

"He's catching Sebulba!"

"YEAH!"

"GO ANNIE! YOU CAN DO IT!"

" _Inkabunga!_ (Incredible!)"

The Dug's larger pod rammed into Anakin's smaller one over and over. Suddenly, two rods on the pods' engines caught together. They hooked together near the final stretch.

"That little human being is out of his mind!"

" _Punda tah punda!_ (They're neck and neck!)

"They're side by side!"

" _Bongo du bongo!_ (Shoulder to shoulder!)"

Sora called out, "You can do it! Almost there, Annie!"

"Yea!" Xion agreed, "You can take that guy!"

Anakin pulled on the steering wheel as hard as he could, as did Sebulba. The two finally broke apart, and Anakin's pod stayed together. The Dug's pod broke into many parts. As he skidded to a stop in the sand, he yelled, " _POOJOO!_ (I might not want to translate that)"

The arena erupted in a roar of applause as Anakin rode into sight. Everyone gathered around. "It's Skywalker! The crowds are going nuts!"

A Keyblade corridor opened and Aqua came out. "Looks like I made it just in time!" She dismissed her armor, smiling at the winner.

Everyone gathered around Anakin's pod, cheering as loud as they could. Roxas and Sora picked the boy up and set him on their shoulders as they bounced around happily.

* * *

Aqua and Qui Gon walked into the booth where Watto begrudgingly paid off all the bets he made on Sebulba. Watto glared at the two as they approached, "You! You swindled me! You knew the boy was going to win! Somehow, you knew it! I lost everything…"

"Whenever you gamble, my friend, eventually you'll lose." Aqua tried hard not to smile.

"Bring the parts to the main hanger," Qui Gon told him with a slight smirk, "We'll come by your shop later so you can release the boy."

"You can't have him!" The blue alien proclaimed, "It wasn't a fair bet!"

Qui Gon put his hands behind his back, "Would you like to discuss it with the Hutts? I'm sure they can settle this…"

Watto hung his head in defeat. "Take him…"

Aqua smiled. "Pleasure doing business with you."

* * *

 **OOOOOh this took foreeeever!**

 **I remember why these were split into 3 chapter. They are soo long!**

 **Please Review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This is my explanation for worlds that people can travel between, like with Lilo and Stitch.

(2) Originally Riku was supposed to be here, but I changed that since Riku and the others use Star Shard in my stories instead of armor and gliders.

(3) This is Huttese.

(4) This is why I replaced Aqua and Riku here.

(5) Before, this conversation was between Shmi and Riku, but I wanted to build Roxas and Xion a little more

(6) For those of us who watched the Clone Wars show, you might recognize this creature.

* * *

 **Hope**

I know a lot has been going on in the world right now, good and bad. One might wonder where hope could exist in a world like this. But there is still hope in all this pain and suffering.

2 Corinthians 1:10 says, " _He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him, we have set our hope that he will deliver us again._ "

Paul, being the man who endured horrible situations normally would not be the one, you would think, to give messages of hope, but he is. If a man like him who had endured so much could find hope, then we can too.

It isn't easy and we can't do it on our own. However, God can give us the hope we seek for if we only ask.


	28. Chapter 28: Distant Galaxy- The Jedi

**So, I figured out why I thought this was 3 chapters…**

 **After these two in the original world lineup, it was "Radiant Garden visit 3". The three was under the "Part 1" and "Part 2", so my brain just connected them. Oops.**

 **Thanks for correcting me guys.**

 **BTW, sorry for not thanking the new followers and favoriters lately. I sometimes forget. Thank you guys for joining us!**

 **Well, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Star Wars © to Disney and Lucasfilms!**

* * *

 **Chapter 28: Distant Galaxy- The Jedi**

* * *

Qui Gon, Padme, Shmi, Jar Jar, Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Xion gathered around, congratulating the young boy on his win. Padme bent down and hugged the boy, "We owe you everything, Annie!"

His Mother kissed her son on the forehead, "Oh Annie, you have brought hope to those who had none. I'm so proud of you!"

"You're the best racer ever!" Kairi and Xion hugged the young child.

* * *

The group took a group of Eopies back to the Naboo ship, carrying the supplies. Roxas and Xion excitedly told their adventures to Lea and Naminé.

Qui Gon still sat on the Eopie, talking to his apprentice, "Start getting this hyperdrive generator installed. I'm going back, I have some unfinished business. I won't be long."

"Why do I sense we've picked up another pathetic life form?" Obi-Wan raised his eyebrow in question.

"It's the boy who's responsible for getting us these parts. Master Aqua, come!"

Sora looked at the young woman who climbed back up on her Eopie, "You're going with him?"

"Yep," the young master nodded, "I helped Qui Gon make the deal, and I have to see it through."

"What deal?"

"Qui Gon and I made a deal with Watto, to free Anakin."

"Really!?" Kairi joyfully gasped.

Sora smiled, "That's great!"

* * *

The keybearer and Jedi walked with Anakin towards his house. Aqua handed him some credits, "Hey, these are yours."

"Yes!"

He ran into the slave house and directly to his mother. The other two followed him inside. "Mom! They sold the pod. Look at all the money we have!"

"Oh my goodness, that's so wonderful, Annie!"

"And he has been freed…"

Anakin turned swiftly to the two men, "What!?"

"You're no longer a slave," Aqua smiled happily to the boy.

"Did you hear that Mom?" the boy turned to his mother excitedly.

The woman looked at her son lovingly, "Now you can make your dreams come true; you're free!" Her eyes drifted up to the Jedi, "Will you take him with you? Is he to become a Jedi?"

"Yes," Qui Gon nodded, "Our meeting was not a coincidence."

"You mean I get to come with you in your starship?!"

"Anakin," Qui Gon knelt down, his face growing slightly more serious, "training to be a Jedi will not be an easy challenge. And, even if you succeed, it's a hard life."

The boy stood steadfast in his decision, "But I wanna go! It's what I've always dreamed of! Can I go Mom?"

Shmi looked downward and then back up to her son. "Anakin, this path has been placed before you. The choice is yours alone."

"I wanna do it…"

Aqua patted Anakin's shoulder, "Pack your stuff. Then we'll go."

"Yippee!" The boy jumped up and ran to his room, but he stopped abruptly. "What about Mom? Is she free too?"

The girl's eyes fell downcast, "We tried to free your mother, Annie, but Watto wouldn't have it and the money from the pod sale wasn't enough to buy her freedom."

"You're coming with us, Mom?"

Shmi stood up and went to her son, kneeling down to him. "Son, my place is here; my future is here."

"I don't want things to change…"

"But you can't stop the change, any more than you can stop the suns from setting." She kissed his forehead, gently prodding him towards his bedroom.

"I will watch after him," Qui Gon comforted the young mother, "You have my word."

Aqua sighed, "Will you be alright?" The woman nodded and sat back down.

Later, the two adults walked with Anakin down the street; the boy's mother stood back at their house. The boy stopped walking and looked back to his mom. Aqua and Qui Gon stopped and waited as Anakin ran back and embraced Shmi.

"He's too young to go through this…" Aqua looked at the small family; memories began flashing across her vision. A small house like this one, a mother and father, and a fire. "At least he gets to say goodbye…" A single tear made its way down the Keyblade Master's cheek, but she swiftly wiped it away and composed herself as the memories faded.

The boy left his mother and slowly walked back to the two, leaving Shmi Skywalker behind them.

* * *

The trio ran towards the Naboo cruiser, Anakin in the back of the group. "Qui Gon, sir, Aqua, wait!" The keybearer turned around and noticed a black-clad figure coming towards them on a speeder bike.

"ANAKIN DROP!"

The boy laid down swiftly as the bike passed over his head. The figure jumped off the bike, drawing a red lightsaber. The Jedi drew his lightsaber and Aqua summoned her blade. The girl blocked the first strike from the figure; her Keyblade, glowing with magical energy, held its own against the energy weapon(1).

As they fought off their assailant, Qui Gon yelled to Anakin, "Go! Tell them to take off!" The boy got up and ran inside the ship.

Sora and Riku stood inside as the boy ran into the ship. "Qui Gon and Aqua are in trouble! They say to take off now!"

Sora ran to the cockpit with the other two following. "Qui Gon and Aqua are in trouble!"

"Over there, fly low!" The ship lifted up, flying very low to the ground.

Aqua and Qui Gon fought off their attacker with great skill. When the ship came right over their heads, the two leapt up onto the ship's ramp. The ramp closed and the ship blasted away.

Anakin, Obi-Wan, Riku, and Sora ran into the hallway to where the keybearer and the Jedi laid out on the ground, exhausted from their battle. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah sure…"

"I think so…"

The Jedi apprentice asked, "What was it?"

"I don't know… but he was well trained in the Jedi arts."

"He was most likely after the Queen," Aqua panted.

Anakin butted in, "What're we gonna do about it?"

Obi-Wan looked at the boy and his master gave a half-hearted smile, "We will be patient. Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"You're a Jedi too?" The young boy grinned excitedly, "Pleased to meet you!"

The rest of the other keybearers hurried into the room. "Annie!" Xion smiled as she hugged the little boy. "How'd you get here?"

"He's been freed!"

Roxas smiled, "Alright!"

"Hey Roxas, how about you introduce us."

The boy nodded, "Guys this is Anakin, the guy who got us the parts we need. Anakin, these are our friends, Lea, Naminé, Riku, Ven, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey."

"Hi! Pleased to meet you!"

* * *

The group stood in the main area of the ship. Everyone else spent the night in their own room, but Aqua would not let them go to sleep.

Lea yawned, "Aqua, can you tell us whatever you need to tomorrow; I'm ready to hit the hay."

"No!" She shook her head, "You need a nights rest to think about what I've said, so you can remember to keep a civil tongue in your head tomorrow."

"Doh… she's sure got your number."

The blue-haired woman smirked, "And I have yours too, so remember that." Everyone shut their mouths. "Sorry… this is an urgent matter. We are headed to Coruscant, where the headquarters of the Jedi, the Jedi Temple is. Master Qui Gon believes that the Jedi Council will wish to speak with us. It has been years since they've had contact with any Keyblade wielders(2). The last ones were Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort."

"They knew the Master?"

Aqua nodded and continued, "If we are to meet them, they will expect us to know their customs and how to address them."

"Is that why you wanted to talk to us?

"Yes," she nodded, "Their rules are much stricter than our own. They do not allow possession or attachment in their order; that is the largest difference."

"Attachment?"

"Yes, basically love is forbidden. In the Jedi order you cannot fall in love; if you do you will be expelled."

Mickey nodded, "I'd heard of that."

"That is certainly strict," Naminé agreed, "It would be very hard to do, I would think."

Aqua continued, "If you can, refrain from mentioning the differences between our orders, and…" her eyes turned to Sora and Kairi, "please refrain from mentioning certain relationships in our group." Everyone chuckled as the two blushed. "Now, some housekeeping things; when you address any Jedi Master, you have to bow out of respect, like this." She bowed at the waist. "Most likely, they will bow back, whether you are a Master or not."

"Wow… this is going to be an interesting meeting."

"And one last thing," Aqua glared at Lea, Sora, Ven, and Donald, "when we are speaking with the council do not speak unless you are spoken to, NO EXCEPTIONS!"

The four recoiled. "Yes, ma'am…"

"Good," her eyes narrowed, specifically at those four, "and if you make us look bad in front of the Jedi Council, I will see you in the training room, one-on-one when we get back the Gummi Ship. And you will regret what you did!"

Their eyes wide, they nodded excessively, "Yes ma'am…"

* * *

Riku sat in the cockpit with Ric Olie and Anakin as they came upon a large dark planet, covered in twinkling lights. "Coruscant," Ric told the other two, "The entire planet is one big city." They went into the atmosphere and flew through the city. A platform with a shuttle attached and some people stood on the platform which floated in the air. "There's Chancellor Valorum's shuttle," Ric pointed, "And look, Senator Palpatine is waiting for us." They landed the ship with ease, and the group got out.

Kairi paused, she felt a brush of darkness, but she knew not from where(3).

Palpatine smiled at Queen Amidala, "It is a great gift to see you alive your Majesty. May I present Supreme Chancellor Valorum."

"Welcome, your Highness. It is an honor to finally meet you in person." The Chancellor acknowledged the Queen, "I must relay to you how distressed everyone is over the current situation. I've called for a special session of the Senate to hear your position."

"I am grateful for your concern, Chancellor." The queen, her handmaidens, her guards, Jar Jar, and Anakin followed her and Senator Palpatine towards the nearby shuttle.

Palpatine continued to talk, "There is a question of procedure, but I'm confident we can overcome it…"

The Jedi Master turned to the Keybearers who stayed with them and Chancellor Valorum, "I must speak with the Jedi Council immediately; the situation has become much more complicated."

Everyone followed him away, but Kairi stayed, staring after the queen and those with her, the feeling of darkness following them.

"Kairi!"

"Coming!"

* * *

The two Jedi lead the Keyblade wielders to a strange building the large city. The building towered up, the square base holding many floors, high stairs leading up to the entrance, and four tall towers stood on each corner. They followed the Jedi up to one of the towers, where the council room resided. As they stood outside, Qui Gon and Obi-Wan spoke to the council themselves.

The door opened and the Jedi exited the room. "They wish to speak with you."

The group filed in; inside the Council Chamber sat twelve Jedi Masters in a semicircle. Few were human, and three stood out from the res. In the center sat a human male with dark skin and a bald head, his stern expression looked upon the group with an untrusting glare.

On that man's left sat an alien with a tall head and a short white ponytail; he looked at them with curiosity.

On the first man's right sat a short green creature that studied the group hard, but not cruelly.

Aqua bowed and the rest followed her example. The first man nodded to them, "Greetings, warriors of the Keyblade. I am Master Windu."

"And I am Master Aqua, former apprentice of Master Eraqus."

The alien with the tall head perked up at this, "And where is your Master now? I knew Eraqus personally, and I don't see him with you?"

"He has… passed on…"

The tall-headed Master lowered his head. "I see… I am sorry. He was a good man."

"Master, may I ask your name?"

"Of course… I am Master Ki Adi Mundi."

The young woman smiled happily, "Yes, he mentioned you."

The green creature looked them over and changed the subject. "Most of you are not trained, self-taught you are."

"That is correct."

"One of you is a King and two of you do not wield a Keyblade.

Mickey nodded, "I am the King of Disney Castle; Donald is my head magician and Goofy is my Captain of the Guard."

"I see…"

"And," Mace Windu said, his eyes narrowing, "I sense a darkness in one of you."

Riku stepped up and bowed, "That would be me. I walk neither that path of light or darkness, but the way to dawn."

"What is your name?"

"I am Master Riku."

Windu raised an eyebrow, "Master? Who was your teacher?"

"Well Master, like…"

The green creature chuckled, "Yoda… my name is Yoda."

"Like Master Yoda mentioned, I am self-taught. My Mark of Mastery exam was given to me by Master Yen Sid."

Ki Adi Mundi leaned back in his chair, "How many of you are trained and who trained you?"

"Ventus was also under the training of Master Eraqus but at first he was trained by…" Aqua caught herself and looked at her young friend.

Ven stepped forward, "Before Eraqus, I was trained by Master Xehanort."

"You all are very uncomfortable with the mention of Master Xehanort."

"Yes sir, Master Windu," Sora piped up, "Master Xehanort is right now, trying to recreate the χ-blade and renew the Keyblade War. We are trying to stop him."

Windu narrowed his eyes, "I see… you are also self-taught?" Sora nodded. "I see…"

Another Master on the other side of the room spoke, "I sense a great and powerful light in this room. A Princess of Heart stands before us." The master stood and approached Kairi. "It is you."

"Yes, Master..." Kairi bowed and the Master bowed back.

The Master smiled, "It is an honor to meet a Princess of Heart; I am Master Shaak Ti."

"Kairi…" The girl bowed again.

"Forgive me," Lea cut in, much to the annoyance of Aqua, "but why the questionnaire?"

The Jedi did not seem offended. Yoda answered the pyro's question, "Had relations with the Keyblade order in a long time, have we not. Want to know what we can, we do."

"We understand…"

"Thank you for answering our questions," Windu nodded to them, "We have always had good relations with the Keyblade wielders. You are welcome to look around our temple."

Kairi asked, "Would we be able to look in on some of the training sessions?"

"Of course, and our archives are open to you. We will even set aside some quarters for you to spend the night in."

"Thank you, Masters." They all bowed and left the Council Chamber.

Lea took a deep breath, "Good night… those guys are stiff. They kinda freaked me out with their straight faces and stern talk."

"You never met Master Eraqus… he was on par with them." Ven gave a sad smile at the memory.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to go watch some of the little kids train."

Sora smiled at his girlfriend, "I'll join you!" The two walked off.

Lea stretched, "I'm sure they have a training room somewhere; would you two like to come with me and find it? We can pit ourselves against some Jedi in battle."

"Cool!"

"Let's do it!" Roxas, Xion, and Lea walked off, discussing how they could beat the Jedi in battle.

"Hey Ven," Naminé took his hand, "You think you could help me find something to draw?"

"Sure!" They walked off towards some large windows to check out the view.

"Hey fellas," Mickey turned to his magician and guard, "why don't we go and speak to some of the other Jedi Masters? I'd like to meet some more of them."

"Yea!"

"Sounds great your Majesty!"

Riku looked at his fellow Keyblade Master, "Why don't we check out the archives? I'd like to see what information they have on the Keyblade War."

"I agree, and I'd like to know about their meeting with my Master." Her eyes dull with sadness. "I'd like to see if they have a picture of him; I miss him..."

"I'm sorry… I know the feeling of losing someone close to me."

As the two began to walk, Aqua continued, "It's not just the Master; I've lost more people close to me, more than I'd like."

"I don't mean to pry, but who?"

The two reached the archives and went to a place where some couches stood around a table. "I'll tell you then…" She took a deep breath, "I used to live on a world called Hazy Hamlet with my Mother and Father, Rebecca and John Maris. I don't know too much about the laws, but I do know that if you failed to pay your taxes, you and your family will be killed."

"That's terrible…"

"I was 7 years old the when my father couldn't pay. The soldiers came that night and burned our house down. My Mother and Father were killed in the fire; I would've died too if Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort weren't visiting our world(4)."

"They saved you?"

The girl nodded, "Master Eraqus did, at least. I vaguely remember him breaking down the door, grabbing me, and getting my outside safely. He took care of me and brought me under his teachings; I lost my parents but I gained a kind Master, and now even he's gone. I've been thinking about it for a little while; Anakin reminded me of myself. He came from situations that were close to my own, but at least he got to say goodbye to his mother." Riku nodded sympathetically. "You said you lost someone too; may I ask, who was it?"

"My little sister." Riku's hand moved to his pocket. "She died when I was a kid."

"I'm sorry, Riku…"

A woman walked over to them, "I'm sorry to interrupt; I'm Jedi Master Jocasta Nu, head librarian. I was asked by Master Yoda to see if you needed any assistance."

Riku shook the vapors from his head, "Uh, yes ma'am. Do you have any information on the Keyblade War, Kingdom Hearts, or the χ-blade?"

"Do you maybe have anything on Keyblade Master Eraqus?"

"I'm sure we have something somewhere…" she stood up and walked off, the two Masters getting up and following her. She went to a recording station and searched through. "Here is something on Master Eraqus; you can look at this until I find something on the other topics you specified."

Aqua and Riku watched as a hologram of Eraqus, Xehanort, Ki Adi Mundi, and Mace Windu appeared. For the first time, Riku saw Aqua's Master. He looked stern but kind, Riku wished he could meet him.

" _Thank you for your assistance, Keyblade Masters."_

Eraqus and Xehanort bowed; Eraqus spoke first, " _We are honored to assist, my dear friends. We are all peacekeepers here._ "

" _We hope to meet you again,_ " Ki Adi Mundi shook the hand of Eraqus.

" _I hope the same…_ " The image fizzled out and faded.

Aqua rewound the recording and paused it where she could see her Master. "I miss you…" Her face looked stiff and emotionless.

Jocasta Nu came back over to them, "I have found the information you requested."

"Thank you…"

"I knew Eraqus," the librarian looked at the frozen hologram, "He was a kind man, who cared for those in need, and was willing to do anything to stop evil." She left Riku to his research and Aqua to her grief.

* * *

Sora and Kairi walked through the temple, gawking at all the sights. Many of the younger Jedi stopped to stare at the strange newcomers. The two soon found a room full of children around six years of age. With them was a Jedi with a green face and tentacle-like hair.

As the two entered, the Jedi Master spoke to the children, "Younglings, we have visitors."

"Hello," Sora waved, "I'm Keyblade wielder Sora and this is fellow Keyblade wielder and Princess of Heart, Kairi."

"Hello, Sora and Kairi!" The younglings addressed them in a mix of the basic language and various alien languages.

Kairi giggled, "Oh that is so cute!"

"I am Master Kit Fisto; how may I help you?"

Sora bowed, "We just wanted to watch the younglings train if that's no trouble."

Kit Fisto nodded, "That is just fine, but I sense that the younglings might have questions for you."

"We'll answer what we can."

At their Master's approval, the children gathered around the Keybearers. One of the little alien girls pulled on Kairi's sleeve. "Are you really a Princess?"

"What's your name?" Kairi knelt down to the little girl.

"Asoka Tano!(5)"

The Princess smiled, "Well Asoka, I'm a Princess of Heart; that means I have a heart of pure light."

"Cool!" All the little kids smiled, so excited to have such important guests speak to them.

* * *

Night fell and everyone split off across the temple. Xion found herself in the archives, fishing through some of the different texts. In nearly every text, she found mention of the Jedi Code. She searched for this code, but when she found it, a pang of emotion struck her heart.

"Xion?" Roxas came over to her. "What did you find."

"The Jedi Code, what they live by."

"Is something wrong?" The boy scooted closer to her.

The raven-haired girl gripped the text in her hands, "I don't understand them. Aqua told us that they don't form romantic attachments, but they don't allow any attachment! No family, no love. They even say in the mantra that there is no emotion, no ignorance, no passion(7)…" She blinked, tears popping up in her eyes. "I don't understand people sometimes. You and I, Naminé too. We didn't have emotions, or we didn't know we had them. We didn't understand love. We wanted to. Now that we have it… And these people, they just want to shut it out as a bad thing. If they only knew what they possess." Her words trailed off into sobs. "I-I don't know why I-I'm crying."

"I… uh…" The boy blinked, unsure of what to do. Heart or not, his mind still did not understand what all to do in some situations.

"Hug her."

He looked up to see Lea standing there. "O-ok." The bronze-haired boy pulled her into a hug.

Lea sat beside them as his female friend's sobs died into hiccups. "You ok, Xion?"

She nodded. "I-I don't know why I was crying. Ax… Lea, what's going on?"

"I heard what you said," he sighed. "You feel bad for them. You know what's it like to not have emotions and seeing people pushing them away hurts you. That's enough to make me annoyed too. As for why you got so emotional so fast, it could be your feelings, or because you're a girl. Girls do things like that sometimes."

The two looked at him, heads turning to the side out of confusion. "Huh?"

"I'll let one of the girls explain it to you; it's a topic I'd rather let one of them discuss that(8). Let's just say that sometimes girls get emotional for no reason." He grinned, reaching out to ruffle the hair of both of his friends.

* * *

Riku yawned, heading to the quarters set aside for him by the Jedi. He paused as he saw Kairi sitting by a window, staring out at the beautiful city. "Hey, Kairi."

"Hey." She smiled. "What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Kai."

Kairi smiles as he sat beside her. "I'm just thinking. I wish to be stronger. I see all these warriors and I just feel weak. I just cry lately."

"You're not weak." Riku smiled at her. "You've been through a lot lately. Everyone has moments when they need to lean on someone. You've been through a lot lately. Your parents showed up and are controlled by Xehanort, you discovered old memories, some good, some bad. Anyone would be devastated by some of the things you've been through. You know, if you need to talk, we're all here." He sighed. "You know, this journey has put us all through stuff. Maybe we all need to take some time and talk about it."

Kairi's eyes lit up. "You know Riku, I think you're right. I wonder if the others will agree."

"I have a feeling they will." The young man stood up, stretching his arms before holding a hand down to Kairi. "Come on, we should get some sleep."

"Thanks, Riku." She took his hand and they headed off.

"No problem, Kai."

* * *

Aqua stood in front of the Jedi Council, along with Qui Gon, Obi-Wan, and Anakin. They called her in to listen to the decision of Anakin's future.

"The force is strong with him."

Qui Gon smiled hopefully, "He's to be trained then?"

"No…" Master Windu spoke abruptly, "He will not be trained."

Aqua sighed and placed a hand on the crestfallen boy's shoulder. Qui Gon cocked an eyebrow, "No?"

"He is too old…"

"He is the chosen one… you must see it!"

Yoda closed his eyes and concentrated, "Clouded this boy's future is…"

"I will train him then!" Qui Gon cut in, catching Obi-Wan off guard; Aqua strained to remember if Jedi were allowed to train more than one apprentice. "I take Anakin as my Padawan learner."

"An apprentice you have, Qui Gon. Impossible to take on another," Yoda's reply answered Aqua's unspoken question.

"The code forbids it."

Qui Gon glanced over at his student, "Obi-Wan is ready…"

"I am ready to face the trials,"Obi-Wan interjected.

Yoda discouraged these worlds, "Our own council we will keep on who is ready."

"He is headstrong and he has much to learn of the living Force, but he is capable," Qui Gon backed up his apprentice's claim, "There is little more he can learn from me."

"Young Skywalker's fate with be decided later."

Windu sighed in annoyance, "Now is not the time for this… the Senate is voting for a new Supreme Chancellor and Queen Amidala is returning home, which will put pressure on the Federation, and could widen the confrontation."

"And draw out the Queen's attacker."

"Go with the Queen to Naboo and discover the identity of your attacker. This is the clue we need to unravel the mystery of the Sith." His eyes moved to Aqua, " And we wish that the Keybearers join them."

Aqua bowed, "Of course Master Windu. We would be honored to join the Jedi and the queen."

"May the Force be with you…"

* * *

The group stood on a landing platform before the Naboo ship. Anakin stood silently beside Aqua. The two Jedi stood a distance away, arguing. Obi-Wan left his Master and entered the ship and Anakin walked forward to the Jedi Master.

"Aqua," Ven piped up, "The Jedi spoke of and used the Force. What exactly is it this Force?"

"It's a powerful force that flows through these worlds." Jiminy(6) jumped onto Sora's shoulder. "I asked around the temple and the archives." He opened his journal, flipping to one of the later pages. "The Force is an energy field that connects all living things. Certain people are Force-sensitive, which means that they can tap into it through microscopic lifeforms inside people called Midi-chlorians. They can use the Force to lift objects, sense feelings, and they can even manipulate the weak-minded. The darker force abilities include generating lightning, among other things."

"Oh… that is cool!" Sora grinned as the cricket closed the journal, returning to his normal place in Sora's hood(9).

A transport came to the landing platform; Queen Amidala, her handmaidens, her guards, and Jar Jar approached.

Amidala stopped before the Jedi and Keyblade wielders. Qui Gon bowed. "Your Highness, it is our pleasure to continue to serve and protect you."

"I welcome your help. Senator Palpatine fears the Federation means to destroy me."

Riku nodded, "I assure you we won't let that happen."

* * *

The Keybearers and Jedi stood before the Queen as Captain Panaka spoke, "The moment we land the Federation will arrest you, and force you to sign the treaty."

"I agree," Qui Gon nodded, "I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish by this."

"I will take back what's ours."

Lea spoke, "I hate to say it, you're Highness but there are too few of us."

"We have no army…" Mickey agreed.

"We're only here to protect you," Aqua added, "We can't fight a war for you."

"Jar Jar Binks," The Queen looked toward the Gungan.

"Mesa, you're Highness?"

The Queen nodded, "Yes, I need your help."

When they reached Naboo, the blockade came into view. "I have one battleship on my scope."

"It's a droid control ship…"

Riku glared, "They've probably spotted us."

"We haven't much time," Obi-Wan nodded. The ship landed in the swamplands of Naboo, and Jar Jar left for the Gungan underwater city. "Do you think the Queen's idea will work?"

Aqua looked out over the swamp, "I don't know… from what I've heard, the Gungans will not be easily swayed."

"And the Jedi can't use their powers to help the queen…"

With a splash, the Gungan came out of the water, "Dares nobody dare. De Gungan city is deserted; some kinda fighten mes tinks."

Obi-Wan looked over to the others, "Do you think they were taken to the camps?"

"More likely they were wiped out…"

"Mesa no tink so," Jar Jar interrupted.

"Do you know where they are, Jar Jar?"

The Gungan seemed hopeful, "When in trouble, Gungans go to sacred place. Mesa show you… come on, mesa show you!"

* * *

The entire group walked through a clearing full of refugee Gungans. A large Gungan, Boss Nass, sat up high. The Boss called out loudly, "Jar Jar, yousa payen dis time. Who's do uss-en others?"

"I am Queen Amidala of the Naboo," the Queen stepped forth, standing straight as an arrow, "I come before you in peace."

"Ahh… Naboo biggen. Yousa bringen da mackineeks… Dva busten uss-en onm. Yousa all bombad."

The Queen spoke strongly. "We have searched you out because we wish to form an alliance…"

"Your Honor…" Padme stepped out from behind her Queen.

Goofy leaned over to Donald, "What's she's doing?"

"Whosa dis?"

The girl straightened up and spoke, clear and strong. "I am Queen Amidala!" Everyone looked around in question and amazement. The girl looked back at the one dressed as the queen, "This is my decoy, my protection, my loyal bodyguard."

"Ah, good plan." Mickey nodded approvingly, one monarch to another.

"I'm sorry for my deception, but it was necessary to protect myself." Queen Padme Amidala continued, "Although we have not always agreed, your Honor, our two great societies have always lived in peace. The Trade Federation has destroyed all that we have worked so hard to build. If we do not act quickly, all will be lost forever… I ask you to help us… no, I beg you to help us." The girl knelt before the Gungan leader; the rest of her group following her example. "We are your humble servants… our fate is in your hands."

There was a moment of silence before Boss Nass began to laugh. "Yousa no tinken yousa greater den da Gungans…? Mesa likea dis. Maybe wesa bein friends!" The boss shook his head, the skin around his mouth flapping about, slinging spit.

Cheers of hope echoed through that dismal swamp.

* * *

Lea and Captain Panaka went to the city; they came back with three speeders full of people.

"What's the situation?"

Lea answered the Queen, "Almost everybody's in camps. A few hundred guards and police formed an underground movement. We brought back as many of the leaders as we could."

"The Federation army's also much larger than we thought, and much stronger." Panaka looked to his Queen, "You're Highness, this is a battle I do not think that we can win."

Padme did not seem phased by the news, "The battle is a diversion. The battle is a diversion. The Gungans must draw the Droid army away from the cities." She nodded to R2, who activated a hologram of the Naboo palace. "We can enter the city using the secret passages on the waterfall side. Once we get to the main entrance, Captain Panaka will create a diversion. Then we can enter the palace and capture the Viceroy. Without the Viceroy, they will be lost and confused."

"Nice…" Lea smirked.

Aqua looked up at the young Queen, "The Viceroy will be well guarded."

"The difficulty's getting into the throne room. Once we're inside, we shouldn't have a problem."

"There is a possibility with this diversion many Gungans will be killed," Qui Gon brought up a good point.

Boss Nass stepped in, "Wesa ready to do are-sa part."

"Are you sure you don't want our help, Boss Nass?" Riku asked, but the Gungan glared at him, daring the boy to offer help once again.

"We have a plan which should immobilize the Droid army," Padme explained, "We will send what pilots we have to knock out the Droid control ship."

"It's a great plan," Mickey agreed, "but, there's a great risk. The weapon systems of the fighters might not get past the shields."

"And there's an even greater danger," Obi-Wan said.

Riku nodded, "Yes, if the Viceroy escapes, you're Highness, he will return with another droid army."

"That is why we must not fail to get the Viceroy. Everything depends on it."

The Keybearers gathered a good distance away. "We should divide out forces," Aqua mused, "We can divide our strength between each battle as needed."

"Should some of us go with the Gungans because I'll go?," Naminé piped up.

Ven looked over at the other blonde, "I don't know. You haven't really been in battle before."

"I'll be alright."

Riku shook his head. "I don't think Boss Nas wants our help. I was going to offer our help, but he gave me a look that said to not. I guess it's a pride thing."

"Then, she can come with me, Donald, and Goofy," Mickey stepped up, "We can use the Gummi ship to help the pilots. It's probably somewhere around here since the Viceroy captured it. Aqua, Ven, you two have Keyblade gliders and the others don't. We could use your help in the fight."

"You're right," Aqua nodded.

"Yup!" Ven grinned.

Naminé rubbed the back of her hand nervously. "I don't know how much help I could be. Fighting seems easier, but if you think I should join you in the Gummi Ship, I'll do so."(10)

Sora crossed his arms. "Well then, that leaves the rest of us to join the Queen." Everyone else nodded, determination burning like fire in their eyes.

* * *

The next day, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Xion, and Lea hid in the alleyways of the capital of Naboo with Padme, Anakin, Qui Gon, and some of the other fighters. On the other side of the square in front of them, hid Captain Panaka with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Naminé, Ven, Aqua, and the pilots.

Kairi knelt down to the little boy at her side, "Annie… once we get inside, find a safe place to hide and stay there."

"Sure."

"And you better stay there!"

Captain Panaka saw the signal from the other group of rebels, he nodded to the Keyblade Master; Aqua launched a large fireball at a Droid tank. It exploded and all 'you know what' broke loose. Padme's group snuck into the main hanger as the battle raged. Captain Panaka's group made their way into the hanger after them.

Fighting broke out as the pilots made their way towards their ships.

Riku turned back to the little boy with them, "Annie! Take cover!" The boy ran and hid under a Naboo fighter.

The Droids poured into the hanger as the battle continued to rage. Donald launched a Blizzardza spell before calling back to his King, "You're Majesty! Look! It's the gummi ship!" Sure enough, the colorful ship sat across the hanger, seemingly undamaged.

The mouse, duck, dog, Naminé, Ven, and Aqua ran into the ship. Once powered up, the ship rocketed out of the hanger, following the Naboo fighters. Naminé slid into the copilot seat. "Are you sure about this? I just learned how to do this."

"You'll be fine, Naminé. I'm here to help you." The king's smile calmed the girl's nerves as they hurried into space.

Back in the hanger, Xion saw a Battle Droid moving towards Anakin, "Annie! Look out!" She threw Seeker of the Stars(11) and decapitated the Droid. "You might want to hide somewhere better."

"Kay…" The boy ran and climbed into a Naboo fighter belonging to a dead pilot R2 lifted itself into the droid spot on the ship.

When the final droid fell, Padme gathered the rest of the group around her, "My guess is the Viceroy is in the throne room."

They headed towards the exit, leaving Anakin in the cockpit of the fighter. "Hey! Wait for me!"

"Annie," Riku ordered, "Stay right where you are."

"But I…"

"Stay in that cockpit!"

As they reached the exit, the door opened to reveal a black-robed figure, he looked to be the same man who attacked Aqua and Qui Gon back on Tatooine. "We'll handle this…" The Jedi stepped forward.

Sora went to approach, but his best friend held him back. "I've got this."

"I'll help you." Roxas gripped both of his Keyblades.

"Me too." Lea spun his chakram and Keyblade, grinning wickedly as they stood beside the Jedi before the mysterious figure.

"We'll take the long way," with a quick glance back, the young queen led the others towards another exit.

The figure pulled down his hood, revealing his face: red skin, covered in black markings, his head covered in short spikes. The dark warrior and the Jedi removed their outer robes. "Who are you?" Riku held up Way to Dawn, ready to strike.

"You may call me Darth Maul…" He pulled out a lightsaber and activated it; two red laser blades coming out of each end.

The two Jedi drew their lightsabers. They all stood still for a minute, sizing up the ones in their path before launching into battle.

* * *

Those with the queen ran back through the hanger to another exit Just as they got close, three round Droids rolled out and unfurled, shooting at the group and activating shield generators around themselves. The group hid as the Droidikas began firing.

"We've got to do something!" Xion ducked as a shot flew over her head. "We can't destroy them while their shields are up!"

From the side, a Naboo fighter hovered up and began firing at the Droids, wiping them out. Kairi grinned as she recognized the pilot, "Its Annie!"

"Go, Annie!" The boy took off, running down the last Droidika as his ship blasted out of the hanger.

"He's headed towards the battle!" Kairi exclaimed.

Sora grabbed her arm, gently, "Don't worry; we've seen Anakin in action. If anyone can handle himself, Anakin can. Right now we need to get moving!" The group ran out of the hanger and into the palace.

* * *

The Gummi Ship flew alongside the Naboo fighters as they headed towards the Droid control ship. Ven and Aqua activated their armor, leaping out of the ship and summoning their gliders. Quickly, they pulled up beside the fighters

As a bunch of ship-like Droids tailed them and attempted to shoot them down, Naminé activated the shields and weapon systems. "Donald, Goofy, the weapons are online!"

"Got it!" The two turned to the controls lying on the side of the cockpit. With a flip of the switches, the guns began to move at their command.

Ric Olie took the lead of the fleet, "Bravo flight, take on the fighters. Flight B, make a run on the transmitter. Mickey, you and your people take out the main hub."

"Got it, Ric!"

Ven and Aqua pulled away from each other as the droids flew by, slashing the sides as many as possible. Donald and Goofy shot as many as they could, clearing out many of the droids for the Naboo ships.

Mickey and Naminé flew around the side of the battleship, the mouse king taking care of the more difficult maneuvers. Their radar beeped as one little fighter came late into the battle. Naminé spotted it and made contact, "Hello, who's there?"

" _Naminé, is that you_?"

"Annie?"

The boy in the fighter replied, " _It's me… I got stuck in a fighter with R2. I guess we'll be helping you out._ "

"Stay close to us, Annie," Mickey leaned over closer to the comlink and yelled.

" _Got it_!"

* * *

Those fighting back in the empty hanger pushed their ferocious opponent further as their sheer numbers overwhelmed him. Darth Maul held his own as best he could, but the frustration in his face became evident.

Riku moved in for a quick strike only to have a barrier rise up suddenly between him and his opponent. The same thing happened to Roxas and Lea.

They watched Maul backflipped away and forced something into a door panel, opening up a path to the power generators and the battle fell away, into the generator room.

"Stupid barrier!" Roxas hacked at it with all his might.

"That will do no good, Number XIII."

The three turned, their muscles tensing as Isa, Braig, and Xemnas stood before them(12). "Your battle's with us. Not him." The sharpshooter lifted his weapon to rest on his shoulder.

"Fine by me!" Roxas bared his teeth, rage radiating from him. "I've been waiting to pay you back for everything!" He turned his head towards Riku slightly. "Xemnas is mine."

* * *

Those with Padme ran down one of the palace hallways. Droids further down the hallway saw them and began shooting. The group ducked behind some large pillars and shot back.

"We don't have time for this!" Padme exclaimed.

"Well," Sora said, "there's more than one way outta here!" He drew back his Keyblade, smashing out the window. "Let's go!" They all climbed out the window.

Panaka looked at the others, "Ascension guns…" The Keybladers used Aeroza spells to lift themselves up higher. The rest of the group shot grappling hooks out of their blasters and ascended to a higher window. Ven knocked the glass out and they went inside.

* * *

The gummi ship and small fighter found themselves in the middle of the battle. Aqua and Ven held off droids as Anakin tried to get his ship off autopilot. "Anakin, are you ok?"

" _Yeah Mickey, I'm fine. R2 finally got me off the autopilot._ "

Mickey furrowed his brow in concern, "Anakin, this is going to get worse before it gets better. You should probably head back."

" _No way_ ," the boy protested, " _I was told to stay in this cockpit and that's what I'm gonna do!_ "

"Annie look out!" The boy turned and saw an enemy fighter right on his tail. Donald called into the comlink, "Don't worry, we'll get him!"

The boy moved to outmaneuver the fighter as Aqua and Ven tried to keep it off him, but other droids, coming in faster, caught their attention. Mickey pulled the gummi ship to the side in an attempt to slam the droid away. He came in a moment too late as the droid pilot shot at the boy and hit his right wing. Anakin's ship spun out of control, careening into the hanger of the station.

Mickey gasped, "No Annie!"

Ven turned his glider around, going after the boy, "I've got him!"

Naminé grabbed the comlink mic, "Annie! Are you alright?"

" _Everything's overheated…_ " The transmission fell silent for a moment before… " _This is not good…_ "

* * *

The battle between Jedi and Sith pulled away, out of sight and mind. Roxas let out a roar of fury as he charged his former boss.

Riku streaked towards Braig and Lea towards Isa.

Lea clashed with his former best friend, staring into his soulless golden eyes. "Xehanort! I will get Isa back! Trust me!"

"He belongs to me."

Lea's fury manifested as fire which spread, singeing his opponent's coat. "I made a promise! To always be there to bring my friends back! Isa's my friend, and I won't leave him behind!"

"Then you will die by his hands."

Braig shot at Riku, warping away just as the boy came close enough to slash at him. "Man, you sure do like to interfere. You think a guy like you would be tired of sticking his nose into places where it doesn't belong."

"Where I belong is between you and your goal." He brought up a shield between himself and the arrowgun bolts.

Braig's single eye glistened, reflecting the sinister thoughts beneath. "I wonder how long you can keep that brave face when we pull at the right strings?"

"Huh?"

Roxas and Xemnas slashed at one another, one blade countering another. "It has been a long time, Number XIII."

"I'll kill you!" The boy's eyes focused, alight with raw emotion.

Xemnas brought up a shield, cutting off the boy's frenzied charge for a moment. "I see your heart stands strong, full of hatred. Such a dark emotion."

"I have good reason to hate you!" Roxas leapt over the shield, clashing with his former boss once more. "You destroyed my life and for that I'll destroy you!"

* * *

Sora clutched his Keyblade as he and the others ran down the hallway towards the throne room. As they neared their goal, a group of Droidikas surrounded them on all sides.

"Aw, come on!" Sora brandished Key to the Kingdom.

Padme looked around and lowered her weapon, "Put down your weapons. They win this round."

With a sigh, they all lowered their weapons as droids came towards them, leading them away.

* * *

Xemnas held Roxas at bay, his face a mask of a strange, sickening joy at the fury of his opponent. "I ruined your life? Was it not Sora or Ansem the Wise? Or do you mean your life with the puppet?" Roxas let out a roar, pressing harder against Xemnas. The two broke away, the man smirking down at the boy, who breathed heavy, sweat pooling on his brow. "Ah, it is about the puppet, and the time you spent with it and Number VIII."

"Shut up!" Roxas' blue eyes glanced over at Lea, who fought against his old friend. "All you do is ruin lives! You wanted Xion and me to fight and one of us to die! You sent Axel to kill me! You, your Somebody, you just hurt others! Did you even think about what Isa wanted? I doubt he wanted to help you!"

"Why should you care about him? He had just as much to do with your pain as I." Xemnas levitated slightly off the ground. "Perhaps I should have the puppet brought here, and then I can finish off that piece of filth, or bring it to my Somebody. He is in need of a new vessel, and a blank slate like her would work well."

"NO!" Roxas charged as Xemnas brought up another barrier. He brought his Keyblades up, shattering the barrier only for Xemnas to catch him in an orb of energy, silver lightning,(13) coursing through the boy's body as his screams echoed throughout the hanger.

"Roxas!"

* * *

Padme strode into the throne room, droids on either side with the others in her group following behind. An alien figure with fish-like features stood before them… the Viceroy. He smirked at the Queen. "Your little insurrection is at an end, you're Highness. Time for you to sign the treaty and end this pointless debate in the Senate."

"Viceroy!" Outside the door approached Padme's decoy and some guards. "Your occupation here has ended!" She destroyed a few battle Droids before running off.

"After her! This one's a decoy!"

Sora smirked; as soon as Padme's decoy ran out of sight, Padme sat down on the throne and opened a compartment. She pulled out some blasters and tossed one to Panaka. Sora, Kairi, and Ven summoned their Keyblades and they destroyed the remaining Droids.

"Now Viceroy," Padme said sternly, "we will discuss a new treaty."

* * *

Roxas screamed as pain coursed through his body. He caught a glimpse of Riku and Lea running towards him, but Isa and Braig blocked their approach. Time slowed for the boy and he felt the life draining from him.

His blue eyes fixed on Xemnas. The man stood there, a smile on his face. He was enjoying this! He wanted Roxas to suffer and die!

Well, people don't always get what they want. Emotion welled up inside the suffering boy. He managed to pull up his arm, summoning all his will to unleash some sort of spell.

"Stop!" Lea slammed into Xemnas, the tip of his Keyblade driving into his former boss' gut. "I won't let you hurt my friends again! Not him! Not Xion!" He pulled back, running over to Roxas as Isa ran to Xemnas.

The Nobody's body oozed dark matter from the wound, but he looked more annoyed than pained. Braig landed beside him. "Well, I guess even you have your off days." His single eyes scanned the room, pausing on the reactor room door. "You know, I don't think we're wanted. And you boys might have something else to occupy your time." The three vanished into a corridor.

"Roxas, you ok?" Lea cast Curza on his friend.

"I'm fine…"

Riku walked over to them, though his eyes focused in the direction Obi Wan and Qui Gon went. "Guys…" The other two turned, their eyes widening at the sight of Obi-Wan carrying, as best he could, his master. The boys clearly saw the steaming hole in the master's gut and knew what happened.

"Oh no."

* * *

Naminé and Mickey looked worriedly at one another as didn't answer their cries, and no word came from Ven.

Ven shot into the hanger, dodging blaster fire. He saw Anakin's pod come up off the ground, and two shots from his blasters hit the main generator. "Oh no…"

Anakin's ship turned around at the same time as Ven. The two quickly flew out of the hanger, the generator's exploded behind them.

Flames erupted from the inside of the control ship. Naminé gasped. "What's that? It's blowing up from the inside. Anakin or Ven must have done something!"

Mickey cheered, "There's Anakin's pod, coming out of the main hangar! Ven too!" The pilots cheered as the Droid Control Ship blew up, and they turned around and headed back to Naboo.

* * *

Riku, Lea, and Roxas returned with Obi-Wan and told everyone of Qui Gon's demise. The news shook everyone, but they could do nothing. The newly elected chancellor along with some members of the Jedi counsel were on their way to Naboo to deal with the Viceroy and Qui Gon's body.

When they arrived, Master Ki Adi Mundi immediately pulled Riku, Aqua, and Mickey aside to talk. "I know that this is not the most of ideal of times, but I wanted to make sure we had time to talk."

"What is it, Master?"

"I was asked to speak to your about future relations between the Jedi and Keyblade wielders. I assume you would like to continue contact with our order."

Aqua nodded. "Of course, Master."

He smiled. "I and the council have faith that you can beat the darkness that you face."

"Thank you." Aqua bowed. "I will let you know when we defeat him."

"Then I look forward to hearing from you soon."

The long-headed man bowed before striding away. Mickey looked up at the two masters. "I think the others are getting ready for Master Qui Gon's funeral; we should join them."

"Yeah…"

* * *

Everyone stood around the funeral pyre as flames consumed Master Qui Gon's body. Riku looked over at Mickey and Aqua, quietly whispering. "I think we should stay the night and let everyone rest before we head out again."

"Sounds good."

"And…" the silver-haired boy sighed, "before we continue, I think we need to take some time."

"And do what?"

"Talk." Riku turned to look at both of them. "This journey, everything that led up to it… we've all seen and been through a lot. That takes a toll on people. After I came home, I learned that just talking about the things that you've been through, the pain you feel, and the things that worry you will make you feel better."

Both Mickey and Aqua stood silent, mulling over these words. The king slowly nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Aqua nodded in agreement before they all turned their eyes back to the fire, watching it burn to the final dying embers.

* * *

 **I could not figure out how to end this darn chapter, so if the ending sucks, sorry.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Magic would really be the only way I can think of to keep Keyblades from being destroyed by lightsabers.

(2) Being such a large and important peacekeeping group, I think the Keyblade wielders would have at least heard of the Jedi and contacted them.

(3) People made the comment before that it was weird for Kairi to not sense anything off about Palpatine, so I fixed that.

(4) Check my story "Their Lives Before" for the full tale.

(5) It's kinda fitting to have her here.

(6) I keep forgetting Jiminy is here… I'm going to fix that and try to make him appear more. If you think I should go back and add him into earlier chapters, let me know.

(7) This is part of the mantra of the Jedi Code.

(8) Honestly, I don't know if Xion or Nami would know about this girl thing, but if I were to go into further detail some people might not like it.

(9) In Re:COM it was hinted that Jiminy possibly rides in Sora's hood. If that's not where he rides, he probably rides in one of Sora's pockets.

(10) Nami really hasn't been in battle before, so it would be best for her to not be in battle.

(11) For those who think that this and the other Keyblades I've introduced sound like ripoffs of other Keyblades, it's because I wanted them to have obvious connections to the Keyblades from the game, on purpose. Now, why I did that... you'll have to wait and see.

(12) I've had it mentioned before that the sheer numbers against certain opponents isn't probably best for the battles, so I decided to do this, and since the group here is Riku, Roxas, and Lea, I thought it would be fitting to bring in former Organization members.

(13) This is what Sora got caught in during the last fight against Xemnas.

* * *

 **Unexpected King**

With Palm Sunday behind us and Easter ahead, you might expect me to give you the same story that people hear every Easter. Well, you're sorta right and sorta not. I'm going to talk about an event leading up to Jesus' death and resurrection. The Triumphal Entry.

This is the event that kicks off what many would call "Passion Week". Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, and people spread out cloaks and palm leaves for his entry, celebrating the arrival of Jesus.

But why were they celebrating? These people who cheered for Jesus' arrival are the same ones who cry out for his death only a few days later. Why the change?

In that time, the Romans ruled over Palestine and many Jews thought that the Messiah prophesied about would come at this time, and they were right about that, but they believed he would come in as this worldly conquering king, who would crush the Roman Empire and free their lands. When Jesus came riding in at Passover, on the same day as a Roman leader, people thought a revolution was about to happen.

But, throughout the week, they did not see what they expected. Jesus taught, told parables, and answered questions. Some of which made people angry, such as him telling them that they should pay their taxes.

They did not understand what Jesus had come to do, though he hints at it. Jesus came as a king, to conquer death and the grave by taking the sin of the world upon him.

Jesus did come to save them, but it wasn't the way they expected and wanted him to come. Yet, Jesus still died for them, taking their sins upon him, and he loved them.

That's the real point, he loved them even though he knew they would turn on him in a few days. He loves us the same, regardless of what we say or do, even regarding him.


	29. Chapter 29: Imperial Mainland- Anya

**Sigh… I was going to do something for this chapter, but it didn't work out, so onto the next world. I'll still fit in my idea somewhere.**

 **By the way, said idea is inspired by a moment in chapter 53 of another fanfic by FadedPhantom called "Eclipse of the Heart". I say this because I encourage ALL of you to go read it. It is the BEST Kingdom Hearts fanfic I have ever read! She spent over 10 years writing it and she just finished it. The story blew me away, and so I encourage all of you to go read it. It's in my favorite stories if you need help finding it.**

 **Well, I digress.**

 **This chapter uses a world that is another one of those "not Disney but almost" movies from childhood.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Anastasia © to Fox!**

* * *

 **Chapter 29: Imperial Mainland- Anya**

* * *

The stars flew by as the gummi ship shot through space. Riku and Aqua sat in the cockpit with Jiminy. After they left Distant Galaxy, the two masters gave everyone a few days before really thinking about the plan they discussed.

The cricket sat on the dash, listening to their idea, his journals off to the side as Riku spoke. "We would have set up this conversation ourselves, but we couldn't figure out how to make it well… not awkward. We thought you might be able to help since you actually worked as a conscience for Pinocchio."

"I'd be happy to help, though it's been over a week since we left Distant Galaxy(1)," Jiminy picked up his journal. "I wish you'd talked to me about this earlier. I agree that it would be quite an awkward discussion; no one enjoys discussing their personal feelings, especially more painful memories. Give me some time to think of a way to make it easier."

Aqua smiled. "Thanks, Jiminy."

A light on the cockpit began to blink and an alarm blared. The cricket turned it off and jumped on a few buttons. "Looks like we finally found a new world."

Kairi sat on her bed, dragging a string across the covers, giggling as the Yenlow Unversed pounced at it. She covered her mouth to stifle the noise, trying not wake the blonde girl who lay on the cot next to her, sleeping. Naminé lay curled under the blanket, her sketchbooks lying around her head.

The princess looked at the pictures drawn on the paper. Her former Nobody liked to draw out her dreams every morning. Kairi looked at the drawing from the day before, and her breath caught in her throat.

She saw a drawing of masses of Heartless attacking people. Hopefully, Naminé was sleeping and dreaming better today. Suddenly, the Yenlow leapt off, onto Naminé's side. "Kyokan!"

Naminé sat up, as the Unversed licked her face. "Kyokan… get off."

"Sorry, Nami. He's hyper today."

The blond rubbed her eyes. "No, it's ok. I probably needed to get up anyway. She changed into her regular clothes and sat down. Kyokan climbed into her lap as the girl began to draw out her dream. "Kairi."

"Yes?"

"I've been thinking… If you want, I can give you back the memories of your past."

Kairi paused, fiddling with a strand of hair as her eyes dimmed slightly. "No thanks... "

"But I thought…"

"I just," the princess laid back against her pillows, "I don't want the weight of those memories, at least not now. I already have enough with my parents being used by Xehanort. I don't want darker and more painful memories, but I'm grateful for the offer." The blonde didn't speak. They sat in silence, the only sounds being Kyokan licking his paw. "So, Nami, tell me about these dreams with the Heartless."

The other girl stopped drawing and sighed. "I started having them a few days ago. There's not much to them and they don't feel long. All I see is people running. I can't make out faces. Everything's a blur, even the scenery, but I'm certain I can see fire in the background sometimes. After a minute of this, I see a swarm of Heartless overtake everyone. That's it. Every day it's the same…"

"That stinks."

They jumped as the alarm went off, telling them they arrived at a new world. "Guess we better go."

"Yeah." The two stood up and went into the main area, followed by the little Unversed. They could see the others all making their way there as well. Most rubbed their eyes or yawned, having been taking time to rest.

Not surprising since most of the time it took them a few days to reach a new world, and they'd been in space over a week.

Riku and Aqua came from the cockpit, Jiminy sitting on the young man's shoulder. "Let's go…"

* * *

"Ugh! It's freezing!"

Roxas shivered. "No kidding."

Snow fell across the city of large dark buildings. People bustled about, talking in hushed voices. Smoke billowed across the city, mixing with the snow in the air, so it rained little white flakes flecked with gray and black soot.

A newspaper blew past them, only for Lea to catch it. His eyes glanced over it as he spoke. "Apparently, this place is called St. Petersburg."

"It's right on the 'bur' part,"

"Oh, suck it up."

They pushed through the thick, grumbling crowd, sticking close to one another so they would not get separated and so they could stay warm.

Lea continued to read the newspaper in his hand. "Hey, guys. Apparently, there was a revolution here ten years ago, and the royal family was killed."

"Thank you, Lea," Kairi huffed, "for that happy piece of information that does not remind me of some part of my past at all."

" _And_ ," the pyro gave her a slight glare at the sarcasm in her voice, "the surviving dowager empress is offering a large reward if anyone can find her surviving granddaughter, Anastasia."

Donald stopped, eyeing the tall young man. "How large a reward?"

"Donald…"

"One million munny." Lea grinned his eyes and the duck's filled up with greed.

Mickey gave the two of them a slight glare. "I say we see if we can help, and not for the reward."

"I agree." Aqua nodded, taking the newspaper. "Hmm, this mentions an 'old palace'; that might be a good place to look for more information. Excuse me!" She caught the arm of a passing man in a suit. "I was wondering if you could direct us to the old palace?"

"Go down until you reach the tram station, turn left and go until the street ends, then left again. You can see the palace from there, now if you'll excuse me." He pulled away and continued walking.

"I guess we're going to the palace then."

"Uh," Sora held up a hand. "Can we get some warm clothes first?(2)"

* * *

After a trip to a small shop, the group went towards the palace. Sora pulled the heavy black coat around himself as Kairi wrapped a scarf around her face and head. "So much better…"

The snow crunched under their feet as buildings towered over and around them as they walked. The further they walked from the main street, the fewer people filled the streets. Smoke still billowed overhead, blotting out the sun, making the air feel colder than it should have.

Soon, they came upon a large, beautiful building, surrounded by a broken fence. They climbed through, following a single set of footprints to a door covered by boards. A few boards lay on the ground, creating the entrance they needed.

Stepping inside, everyone looked around the beautiful building, covered in dust. "This must have so pretty before."

"Yeah," Kairi knelt down, watching a tablecloth move sporadically. "I think something's here."

The others gathered around as the princess lifted up the fabric. Xion gasped. "Kyokan!" The little Yenlow came out, tail wagging. "Why'd you follow us?" Kyokan walked over, nuzzling her leg.

"Great, now we have an Unversed…" Riku groaned.

"Let's just go."

They continued on, the Yenlow running around their feet. "I guess he got lonely." Ven smiled, reaching down to try and pet it. Kyokan jumped up, wrapping its limbs around the boy's hand and refusing to let go.

"I guess it likes you now, Ven."

"Guess so."

As the group entered a large room, covered in tapestries, Kyokan leapt off Ven's hand and ran ahead, yipping. The barking of a dog mixed with the Unversed's cries as the Yenlow ran back, followed by a small, scruffy-looking dog...

"Pooka!" A young lady in a tattered yellow dress with bright auburn hair came running after the dog. She caught the dog, and her eyes turned up to look up at the group. "Who are you?"

Sora grinned as he picked up Kyokan. "I'm Sora!" The others quickly introduced themselves as a young man with brown hair and a larger man with glasses came towards them. "And you are?"

"Anya." The girl smiled kindly, looking over at the two men, the younger of whom looked very annoyed. "This is Dimitri and Vlad."

"Nice ta meetcha, Anya." Goofy smiled.

The dog in Anya's arms leaned forward, sniffing. Kyokan did the same. "What's the dog's name, Anya?"

"This is Pooka. And what's the name of your… dog?"

"Kyokan." The Unversed flailed until Sora put him down. He ran over to Anya and stood on his hind legs, looking up at the dog. Xion giggled. "I think he wants to play with Pooka."

The younger man with Anya, Dimitri, stepped up. "Well, we'd love to stay and let the animals play, but we have somewhere to be."

"Don't be rude, Dimitri." The yellow-clad girl waved a hand. "So, what are you guys doing here?"

Holding up the newspaper, Lea tapped the front page. "We saw this and thought we would try to help find this Anastasia person."

"Well, isn't that a coincidence?" Anya grinned. "These two gentlemen think I might be Anastasia."

"Really?"

She nodded. "I mean, I don't know if I am or not. I have very few memories of my past, but there's no harm and going to see, and maybe the empress will know, and then it's all a big misunderstanding."

"Mind if we tag along?"

"Nope, no! They are not coming!" Dimitri waved his hands before getting up close to the group. "Just what are you trying to pull?"

Mickey cocked his head to the side. "Nothing, we're just trying to help."

"Well, we don't need your help. Come on, Anya."

"Hey!" The girl called after him. "Why can't they join us? The more the merrier, right?"

"You don't even know them; how can you trust them?"

Anya raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? I met you, oh what, five minutes ago, and now you're lecturing me on not going with people I just met."

The two argued, Vlad and the others looking on, not knowing what to do or say to them. Riku narrowed his eyes. Why wouldn't they just shut up? A chill suddenly ran down his spine and his nose twitched; every muscle tensed as whispers echoed in the back of his mind. He could feel it, darkness closing in around them. His eyes darted about, and for a moment, he thought he saw a small green figure, glowing and ghostly, rush behind a pillar.

Puffs of dark smoke appeared around them, and Heartless stepped from those. Anya and Dimitri immediately stopped fighting as a Piercing Knight Heartless(3) leapt between them, threatening to skewer them on the tips of his pointed feet. Tiny Black Ballade Heartless began splitting apart, five clones appearing for each one that originally appeared. Shadow Witches and Shadow Magicians swooped down upon the three weaponless people.

"Look out!" Kairi jumped up, batting away a Shadow Witch that tried to hit Anya.

Vlad jumped away from one of the Black Ballades, catching his glasses as they threatened to fall off his face. "What are these monsters?"

"Heartless!" Riku grit his teeth as a fake Ballade sent a jolt of pain through his body. "Some dark force summoned them here!"

They worked as quickly as they could to dispatch the many Heartless. Even little Kyokan took out a few on his own. When the last monster burst into a cloud of darkness, Anya placed her hands on her hips. "That settles it. You are coming with us! Any objections, Maestro?"

"No." Dimitri glared at the girl before turning around.

* * *

As Dimitri and Vlad ordered the many tickets to Paris, Anya played with Pooka and Kyokan. The others stood off to the side, talking.

"Mickey, I am confused. How are there two Paris'?" Sora scratched the back of his head as he glanced towards the train station. "The world where we met Duchess, O'Malley, and the kittens was called Paris."

The mouse king crossed his arms. "I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps this world and that one were connected before the Keyblade War, and when the worlds broke apart the city got split apart as well(3)."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Hey!" Dimitri yelled, waving them over. "Are you coming or not?"

Everyone ran over, grabbing their tickets before they all boarded the train.

* * *

The snowy countryside rushed past. Vlad sat in a compartment with Mickey, Aqua, Ven, Donald, and Goofy. Lea took the next compartment with Roxas, Xion, Naminé, Riku, and Sora. Kairi sat in the third one with Dimitri, Anya, Pooka, and Kyokan.

The princess held a notebook in her hands, focusing hard on making the words come out on the page just as she wanted, and she tried to ignore her bickering fellow passengers.

Dimitri stormed out after another word banter with Anya. Finally. Silence. But it didn't last long. Pooka and Kyokan began to playfully wrestle in the seat beside Kairi, yipping and growling.

"Well, looks like I'm not writing today." The princess set aside the notebook as Anya laughed.

"Sorry." She looked at the animals. "So, what is Kyokan? He's not a dog, that's obvious."

Kairi nodded. "He's something called an Unversed, specifically a Yenlow."

"Still have no idea what that is. So, what are you writing?"

"Just a story(5)." Leaning back, Kairi closed her eyes. "So, you think you're Anastasia?"

Anya shook her head. "I don't know. I have very few memories of my past. I was found wandering around when I was eight years old. I grew up in an orphanage." Slowly, she fingered the necklace that hung around her neck. "I only have one clue, and that is Paris. I mean, if I'm not Anastasia then the empress will certainly know right away and then it's all just a big misunderstanding. Either way, it gets me to Paris."

"I guess we're more alike than I thought." Kairi wrung her hands. "I lost my memories of my childhood as well."

The other girl raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Kairi let out a long sigh, the conversation with Naminé before they landed on this world. "Anya, if you had the chance to recover your lost memories, even if they were extremely painful, would you?"

"Absolutely! Do you have that opportunity?"

"I do, but I said no." The princess clenched her dress in her hands. "I know that the memories are extremely painful. I'm scared."

Anya stood up, sliding into the seat beside the other girl. "I understand. People like to leave out the fact that things will be scary. I have to leave everything to look for my family, who might not even be there anymore. It's terrifying, but if I was in your situation, I'd take the chance to get my memories back."

"Guess you're right. Thanks, Anya."

"No problem, Kairi. So, what's that story about?"

* * *

Jiminy watched Vlad pack up his paperwork to go check on Anya. "I'm not sure how I feel about getting around with forged paperwork."

"Yeah," Ven sighed, "but it's the only thing we can do."

"True."

The cricket closed his journal. "Well, I suggest we get some rest. Who knows how long until we get to Paris."

"Good idea."

They all closed their eyes, taking time to rest.

* * *

Kairi and Anya laid across the seats, sleeping through the night. Suddenly, Dimitri came inside, shaking them awake. Kairi woke up gently, but Anya sat up and slapped the young man across the face. "Oh, I'm sor… oh wait, it's just you."

The young man grabbed his face, glaring at her. He huffed, grabbing some of the luggage. "Come on, we gotta go."

"Huh?"

"Where are we going?"

The girls pulled on their coats as the man grabbed their stuff, ushering them into the hallway. Vlad and the others walked in front of them until they reached the freezing cold baggage car.

Riku yawned. "The baggage car? There wouldn't be anything wrong with our papers?"

"No," Dimitri waved a hand, a nervous smile flashing across his face. "I just hate to see her grace mingling with all those commoners."

Anya and the others all frowned, very unconvinced and very annoyed at being woken up. Suddenly, an explosion sent them flying onto the ground.

"What was that!?"

"Don't know," Mickey looked up, "but there goes the dining car." Looking up, they saw the back of the car blown off and the rest of the train falling behind. Everyone pulled themselves out of the fallen luggage.

Lea stood up first, peeking through the window on the opposite end of the car, the window that should have looked into the engine room. "Uhh, I think someone nuked the engines!" He threw the door open and ran to the red-hot machinery. Steam shot up in his face. His fire affinity protected him from most of the heat, but flames shot up as the engine exploded. "Nope…"

"We're going way too fast!" Xion grabbed at Roxas as she looked down at the ground rushing past.

Dimitri grabbed a hammer. "We're going to have to jump!"

"Did you say jump?!"

"It might work," Aqua opened the side door, "We can use our magic to soften the blow." However, when she opened the door, the ground dropped away outside into a small chasm. "Never mind."

Dimitri grabbed a hammer and ran for the engine car. "Then we'll uncouple the car!"

The moment he reached it, the coupling, which had been normal a moment before, now the entire coupling was fused together. Ven looked down at it. "Uh, is it just me or does it seem like something is actively trying to kill us?"

"Just help me uncouple it!"

"Get back!" Riku shoved him out of the way before pointing his Keyblade at the coupling. "Get away from anything metal!" Everyone moved to the middle of the car, making sure to avoid any metal. "THUNDZA!" A bolt of lightning struck the coupling, shattering it. The car jerked as the engine pulled away.

Vlad jumped up, grabbing the brake wheel. "The brakes are out!"

"Turn harder!" The man turned and the wheel came off.

Donald stuck his head out the end of the car. "We've got plenty of track! We can coast to a stop.

A pulse of darkness filled the air as a green glow lit up the sky. Again, the car jerked. Sora and the others ran to the open entrance and saw the bridge ahead, completely destroyed. "I guess we're using magic to stop this train!"

"I'll cast Stopza!"

"Xion, don't!" Aqua grabbed her arm. "Stopping the train like that will throw us from it. We should slow it down and then jump! Everyone, cast Aero at the front of the train then get ready to jump!"

All the warriors cast Aero at the front of the train. The gusts slowed the car down but not enough. Dimitri and Vlad opened the side doors, peering into the snow that rushed past.

"Well, this is our stop!" At once, everyone leapt from the train. They hit the snow, the cold powder cushioning their fall, but drenching them in water and freezing cold.

Everyone popped out of the snow. "... Well, I have to agree with Ven. Someone is trying to kill us." Lea spit out some snow. "And I officially hate trains."

"No kidding," Dimitri grabbed some of the luggage that he, Vlad, and Anya were able to grab before they jumped. "Well, let's get moving."

"So, we're walking to Paris?"

Dimitri sighed. "No, we'll take a boat in Germany."

"Oh," Anya huffed, "Then we're walking to Germany?"

"No, your grace. We're taking a bus."

"A bus!"

* * *

All night, they walked, coming down from the mountains where the snow grew less and less. Once they found a quiet place, devoid of snow, they laid down on the soft grass to get a few hours of sleep.

As they got up and walked down a country road towards Germany. After a while, Vlad began to spin around, his eyes taking on a wistful look as he called into the air. "Sophie, my dear! Vlady's on his way!"

"Who's Sophie?"

"Who is Sophie!?" Vlad grabbed Ven and began to twirl around. "She's a tender little morsel..."

"Vlad…"

The large man ignored Dimitri. "The cup of hot chocolate after a long walk in the snow…"

"Vlad! Xnay on the offesay!(6)"

"She's a decadent pastry filled with whipped cream and laughter…"

Naminé giggled. "Is this a person or a cream puff?"

"She's the Empress' ravishing first cousin!" Vlad hummed to himself, completely lovestruck.

Anya stood up off a log, eyebrow raised. "But, I thought we were going to see the Empress herself; why are we going to see her cousin?" All eyes turned to Dimitri. "Dimitri?"

"Well," he rubbed the back of his neck, "nobody gets near the Dowager Empress without convincing Sophie first."

"Convincing!?"

"No! Nobody ever told I had to prove I was the Grand Duchess!" The girl crossed her arms, advancing on the young man.

"Look, I…"

"Show up. Yes. Look nice. Fine. But _lie_!?"

"You don't know it's a lie." Dimitri countered. "What if it's true?"

"That's such crap!" Sora huffed. "It's still a lie!"

Dimitri ignored the boy. "Alright, so there's one more stop on the road to finding out who you are. I just thought this was something you had to see through to the end no matter what."

"Why lie?"

Aqua sighed. "Exactly. Why not just tell them the truth? Anya doesn't know her past, so they would probably understand."

"We'd never get to see the Dowager Empress unless we brought the Grand Duchess."

Ayna furiously turned on him. "But look at me, Dimitri! I am not exactly Grand Duchess material here!" She groaned as she stormed off to a nearby bridge. Her eyes turned down to the water.

After a minute, Vlad walked over to the disheartened girl. He gestured to the water, and to her reflection. "Tell me, child. What do you see?"

The girl looked down at her grubby reflection. "I see a skinny little nobody, with no past and no future."

"Hey!" Roxas' tone came across far harsher than he meant it to, but he didn't care. "You are not a nobody!"

The girl seemed put off by the fire in his voice, but Vlad, despite being confused and slightly annoyed by the young boy's angry response, turned Anya toward him, smiling. "I see an engaging, fiery young woman, who on a number of occasions has shown a regal command equal to any royal in the world. And I have known my share of royalty. You see, my dear, I was a member of the imperial court."

Kairi bit her lip before speaking. "Anya. You told me that you'd do almost anything to get your memories back. I hate the idea of lying, but if you meant what you said…" she sighed. "There is nothing for you back in St. Petersburg; everything is in Paris."

"Kairi…" the older girl looked over before letting out a long sigh; she turned around, smiling at everyone. "She's right. So, start your teaching!"

Vlad and Dimitri immediately began instructing the girl, the others watching on. Riku leaned against a tree. "Well, if we're going to be walking all this way with them we might as well help."

"Yeah, you're right."

* * *

As they continued on their way, everyone worked to teach Anya everything she needed: important locations, horseback riding, bicycle riding, family history, proper etiquette, names of the royalty, and more.

Finally, they reached Germany and boarded a boat to Paris. They all laughed as they got on the boat and headed off; however, none of them noticed the five black-clad figures watching them.

Xemnas looked at the others. "We will strike once they are distracted." The four nodded, golden eyes glinting under the hoods.

* * *

 **I absolutely love this movie and I'm so happy to do it!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) There is never any specification as to how long it takes to go from one world to another, and I've never specified it either, so I'm doing that now that it takes a good bit of time, at least a day to get from one world to another and the distance varies.

(2) I don't understand how in places like the mountains on Land of Dragons they can go without warm clothes, especially Sora, who is from a tropical world.

(3) Introduced in KHUX, as are most of the Heartless you might not recognize immediately.

(4) This is just a theory I've had for some time.

(5) I made Kairi an author in the future, so this is the beginning

(6) Pig-Latin. 

* * *

**Identity Anxiety**

* * *

Young people are always trying to figure out who they are. This identity crisis is rampant today.

I myself have been dealing with my own identity crisis, and it has caused me so much anxiety, that I have had numerous panic attacks in the recent weeks.

Identity is someone every struggles with, but sometimes we look for our identity in things that won't fulfill us. We look for it in our grades, as if how we do in school is who we are. Or how many likes/favorites/follows/watchers we get on social media. There are many other things out there that people put their identity in. None of these will ever fulfill you.

Where do you look for your identity…?

Where should you look for your identity?


	30. Chapter 30: Imperial Mainland- Anastasia

**Hi guys!**

 **We're getting new KH3 info next weeeeeeeek! So much hype!**

 **Ok, I'm going to be going back and editing most of the chapters of this story. Why? Because of Jiminy. I've really seen what he can add to a chapter, and I forgot about him for so long. I'm going to go back and add him in. I'll put on the story description what chapter I've edited.**

 **Aaaaaanyways….**

 **On to the chapter!**

 **Thank you to everyone who has followed and/or favorited!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Anastasia © to Fox!**

* * *

 **Chapter 30: Imperial Mainland- Anastasia**

* * *

Creaks and groans echoed through the halls as the ship rocked back and forth on the waves. Sora stood on the bow, watching the front of the ship dip down and come back up.

"Ugh… how can you stand this…?" Lea slumped over the railing near him, with a giggling Roxas and Xion watching from behind.

"Stand what?"

"The waves…" The pyro's face turned a terrible shade of green as the boat dipped again.

Sora laughed. "I grew up on an island, remember? I've been in boats since I was a kid. I'm used to it by now, and I'm sure the ship's infirmary will have some sort of medicine for seasickness, Lea."

"But that means walking, and I don't know if I can do that right now."

"We can get the medicine for you, Lea." Xion offered.

Her friend barely moved, but managed to look at her. "Please. Do that and I will be eternally grateful." The two laughed as they walked off leaving their seasick friend with Sora.

Nearby, Ven stared over the ocean as Naminé sat beside him on a pile of rope, drawing. "That doesn't look like a fun scene." He watched as she drew Heartless attacking people.

"I've been dreaming about it." she sighed. "I don't understand why. Part of me thinks that it's someone's thoughts or memories that I just keep seeing, but it's all so blurry as if it isn't actually happening, but someone is thinking about it happening."

"That's ominous."

* * *

"Anya!"

The girl looked up as she and Kairi exited the room that they and some of the others were sharing. "Yes, Dimitri?"

"Here, I bought you a dress." He handed her a large, blue dress.

Anya laughed. "You bought me a tent." She picked up the bottom and looked inside.

"What're you looking for?"

"The Russian Circus," Anya's voice trembled with mirth, "I think it's still in here."

"Come on, just put it on!" The young man dropped the dress and stormed up the stairs.

Kairi looked at the dress. "It is a little too big."

"Nothing a needle and thread won't fix."

"True."

* * *

"How can you fit anything into a book that small? And what are you writing about anyway?" Dimitri stared at Jiminy as he wrote.

The cricket, from his place on Mickey's shoulder, smiled. "Oh, I just write small. And, I'm writing down what's been happening on our journey, including all we've learned about the royal family here due to your teaching Anya."

"Jiminy is the best record keeper I've ever known." The mouse king's eyes focused on the chess board that sat between him and Vlad. He moved his knight. "Checkmate."

Vlad threw up his hands in a mock huff. "Beaten again."

The others sat around the deck, chatting quietly; Lea, finally rid of his seasickness, stared out at the setting sun with Roxas and Xion at his side.

Anya and Kairi stepped out on deck, Anya wearing the new dress, now altered to fit her. Her hair hung around her shoulders in light curls with a bow holding back part of it. The older girl cleared her throat, catching the attention of the others.

Vlad looked up first, eyes lighting up at the sight of her. "Wonderful! Marvelous!" He went to her, taking her hands.

"You look great, Anya!"

"And now that you are dressed for a ball, you will learn to dance for one as well. Dimitri!"

The young man looked over at Vlad's call, blinking at the transformation of the girl they'd brought so far. "But I'm not very good at it…"

Vlad pulled him over. Dimitri and Anya getting into position and began dancing as Vlad counted. "And… one- two- three. One- two- three… No, no, Anya. You don't lead, let him."

The two began to dance again, staring into one another's eyes. Goofy scratched his head. "Is it just me or do those two seem to like one another?"

"No Goofy," Riku smirked, "It's not just you."

"Hey, Kairi, let's join them." The boy grabbed his friend's hand, hoisting her to her feet as he began twirling her around.

Ven took Naminé's hand as well. "Come on, let's go too!"

"But I've never danced before."

Roxas and Xion glanced at each other but quickly turned away. "Oh no." Lea grabbed their arms. "You two are getting in there." He hooked their arms together and gave them a push towards the other dancers, much to their chagrin. He laughed as they glared at him, but began dancing all the same.

Even after Anya and Dimitri awkwardly stopped dancing, the others continued, happy that things seemed peaceful, and they weren't about to let this moment slip past without enjoying it fully."

* * *

With how full the ship ended up being, the large group had to share two cabins with one set of bunk beds in each. In one cabin, Kairi slept on the top bunk and Anya on the bottom. Vlad, Dimitri, Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy shared the floor. In the other, Naminé took the top bunk and Xion the bottom; everyone else slept on the floor.

A storm came upon them not long into the night, making everyone uneasy, and some people, like Vlad, sick.

"You alright, Vlad."

"Fine, fine. Just riddled with envy." He glared at Dimitri and Sora, who lay with their heads on bags, sleeping. "Look at them. They can sleep through anything."

The girls giggled as the ship rocked. Pooka and Kyokan walked around the room, sticking their noses into everything. The Unversed climbed into Dimitri's bag and knocked it over. Out slid a small golden box with green accents.

"Wow." Donald stared at it, greedily as Anya picked it up.

Goofy smiled. "That's a real pretty jewelry box."

"Jewelry box?" The redhead looked at the object, studying it carefully. " Are you sure that's what it is?"

"What else could it be?"

The girl didn't even glance at Vlad as he spoke, her gaze enraptured by the small object in her hands. "Oh well, something else… something special… something to do with a secret. Is that possible?" Suddenly, Pooka and Kyokan leapt on Anya, yipping for attention.

"From what I've experienced, anything is possible. I mean, you got Dimitri to dance didn't you?" Riku took off his vest and rolled it under his head like a pillow.

Everyone else lay down, trying to get comfortable; Pooka curled up beside Anya and Kyokan stretched out beside Kairi.

Jiminy, who sat on the only table the room offered, pushed open an empty matchbox(1) the others had found for him; he turned out the lamp next to him and crawled into his makeshift bed.

* * *

 _Screams._

 _People fleeing as Heartless swiped at their heels._

 _A set of double-doors with long rectangular windows in each one, opening for the crowd of people._

 _The sound of stones breaking apart._

 _The crash of a building falling in on itself._

 _An explosion._

 _A fire._

 _Blood._

Naminé jolted awake, breathing heavily as the images and senses from her dream assaulted her thoughts. Why was she seeing these things?

The ship still rocked from the storm as everyone around her lay asleep. A breath of fresh air and some rainwater on her face wouldn't hurt… Careful to not wake the others, she slipped down off the bed. Her sleeveless blue nightgown(2) swished around the tops of her legs as she pushed the door open and stepped out.

Her feet touched the cold metal, covered in cold water which dripped in from the open staircase to the deck. Slowly, she walked towards the staircase; when she reached the first step, she went up and stopped, allowing the cold rain to touch her face as it blew in.

Surely this would clear her thoughts.

A sound ripped through the air. Shing! The girl opened her eyes in time to see dark chains come down from the deck, they wrapped around her and pulled her into the stormy air.

"Ah, Naminé." The girl felt someone grab her hair when she came to a stop. The hand pulled her hair and face upwards until she came face-to-face with the former leader of the Organization. Xemnas grinned at her. "It is fortunate that you should be the one we catch."

The girl looked around, frantically looking for a way out, but the chains tightened as she moved. Through the pouring rain, she could see Kaname, Rimi, Yamato, and a hooded figure standing behind Xemnas. The figure's hand stretched towards her, glowing with a dark gold energy. The chains must have been his doing. "Was it you? Did you send those dreams to lure me out?"

"I do not know what dreams you mean, girl." He grabbed the chains and drug her to an outcropping in the ship before throwing her down. "But your powers will be quite useful. Use them, and bring Kairi to us."

"No! I won't!"

"You will." Xemnas grabbed her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "You care about your friends, such as Kairi. What would happen to her if I decided to kill one of her newly revived parents? How badly would that break her heart?"

"What!?"

"We have other vessels in mind. To lose one wouldn't be much of an issue. Now, bring Kairi to us."

Naminé bit her lip, looking up at Kaname and Rimi whose eyes stared back with emotionless expressions, and yet, the two held hands. Part of their old selves was still there. She couldn't let them die… "Kairi, forgive me."

* * *

" _Kairi…_ "

" _We're here, baby._ "

The girl sat up in bed at the voices in her mind. " _What?_ "

" _Kairi, it's us!_ " Wait… her mom! She knew that voice. " _We're here, come outside._ "

The girl blinked. Could it be true? She slipped out of the bed, waking up Kyokan, who followed her down and out of the room. Kairi walked through the watery passageway up to the stairs. At the top stood her parents. "Mom? Dad?" Slowly, she approached them, but as she came close, dark chains shot out from behind them, wrapping around the girl. "What!?"

Kyokan watched this from below and yipped before turning around and running back to the rooms. As he ran back, Anya sleepwalked past him, green wispy creatures flying around her as she walked.

Kairi found herself dragged across the deck and thrown next to Naminé. "Nami?"

"Kairi, I'm sorry. He said he'd kill one of your parents if I didn't do it…"

"What do you-?" The voices in her mind. Naminé made those happen.

Xemnas walked up to the two girls. "You two will do for now."

"What's going on!?"

"Naminé will become one of us," he grinned savagely. "Her powers will be quite useful." The blonde girl shuddered under his gaze. "And you, Princess. For once, we are not here for your pure heart… your parents have become slightly troublesome, and having you would give them incentive to obey."

Kairi's eyes widened as she looked at her parents, who still held hands; their gazes locked with her own. In their eyes, she could see something, the barest hint of emotion. Joy at seeing their daughter, and fear that she might be hurt. "You can't!"

"I can, and I will. Oh?" He smirked. "It appears your friend is in danger." He pointed to Anya, who sleepwalked across the deck, climbing up on the railing of the ship, and looked like she was about to jump.

"ANYA!"

* * *

Down in the cabins, everyone slept soundly. Ven suddenly felt something pounce on his face and start yipping. "Kyokan?" He tried to brush the Unversed off, but it grabbed his sleeve in its mouth and pulled. "Stop! What are you-?" He sat up and looked around; the creature jumped up on Naminé's empty bed and howled. "Naminé!? Everyone! Naminé's gone!" He jumped up as the others began to wake and ran out the door.

Kyokan warped to the other cabin and jumped on Sora, doing the same, but the boy was already waking up, as Pooka barked, waking up Dimitri.

"Pooka, Kyokan. Go to bed."

The two animals nudged the boys, yipping. "What Pooka?" Dimitri suddenly saw Anya's empty bed. "Anya!?"

"Kyokan, stop…" Sora sat up just in time to hear Dimitri cry out. When he looked over at the beds, he saw both empty. "Kairi!? Everyone up! Get up!" He and Dimitri jumped up and ran out as the others began to wake. The two boys saw Ven run up on deck and they followed.

Dimitri began looking for Anya, and Sora followed Ven; after a few steps, he saw what his friend was running towards. "KAIRI!"

Yamato blocked Ventus' approach with the Katana in his hands. The thick blade suddenly shifted, a burst of wind appearing around the blade(3). Ven stood his ground, activating his Cyclone ability(4)

Sora ran past him only for Kaname to block his path. "Kaname! Please, move! I'm trying to save Kairi! I know you love your daughter... "

The man stared at him, and his weapon slowly began to lower. "Kaname, lower your weapon and your daughter dies." The sword came up again, and Kaname charged Sora. The others came up on deck and ran towards them.

Rimi cast spells at them to hold them at bay while summoning Heartless to her side. Kairi and Naminé could do nothing but struggle and watch. Xemnas observed the fight for a minute before walking over to the fourth member of their group. "Take them to the dungeons. We will deal with Naminé soon, but we need Kairi now."

"No!" Kairi screamed, thrashing against the dark chains. "I won't let you use me against my parents! I won't!" The girl slumped over, staring at the ground.

"You have no choice…"

Kairi lifted up her head and the smirk adorning the Nobody's face vanished at the sight of her pure-white eyes. " _ **NO! YOU WILL NOT USE ME!**_ " Light shattered her and Naminé's chains as the white dress and wings appeared on the Princess of Heart. With a single burst of light, all the Heartless vanished, and Xehanort's men flew to the ground.

The rain around the group seemed to vanish, evaporating in the air due to the powerful light coming from Kairi; the rest of the rain which fell around began producing rainbows. So the dark, stormy night turned into a colorful display of light within moments.

Xemnas pulled himself up. "The Aeris…!? It can't be; she can't be that strong yet?" He looked around and saw the other members all glowing slightly, darkness seeping off them. "No…"

For a moment, everyone stood still. Rimi suddenly looked up, her eyes fading to a deep indigo as she looked at her daughter. "K-Kairi?"

Kaname looked up at Sora, who stood before him. The captain's eyes faded to violet as he stared at the boy. "You… you're the one... "

"Captain?"

Just as that small inkling of hope appeared, dark corridors appeared under every member of the Organization, and they vanished into the darkness, taking that hope with them.

"NO!"

Kairi's form faded, and everything went back to stormy darkness. She looked up as Sora came to her. "I-I almost saved them… they were there. I saved them, but Xehanort took them, he took them away, again!" She buried her head against his shoulder, shaking with emotion.

Everyone else watched. Ven put an arm around Naminé. "Come on, let's get out of the rain…"

"Agreed…"

Nearby, a distressed Anya and Dimitri stared at them. "What was that…?"

* * *

"Kairi, are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"I'm sure."

"Alright…"

Everyone sat in the back of a bus as they pulled into Paris. Vlad and Dimitri continued to quiz Anya. After her sleepwalking led her to nearly jump off the boat, the others heard her talking about a dream of people that turned into a nightmare of monsters and something about 'the Romanov curse'. However, they found themselves too occupied with the incident with Kairi.

It didn't help that the princess didn't feel like discussing it, but no one could blame her.

Mickey, however, couldn't help but question some of what they saw. "Aqua, do you have any idea what Xemnas meant but 'the Aeris'? I've seen the name before, but I don't know what it is."

"No." She rubbed her forehead. "I wish I knew, and I wish we knew who that other hooded figure was. He was glowing like Kaname and the others, so whoever it is, they must be possessed as well." She glanced over at Naminé, who sat next to Ven. "I am concerned for Naminé. I know about the powers she possesses, and if Xehanort wants her on his side so badly, that's not good for us."

Riku sighed. "We'll just have to watch her then. Right now, we should focus on helping Anya; once that's done, we can take care of the rest."

"Yeah."

* * *

Everyone approached a nice yellow house on a pristine street. Vlad walked right up and knocked. The maid answered, but a woman with blonde hair and a purple dress pushed past her. "Sophie Stanislovskievna Smorkov-Smirnoff!"

"Vladimir Vanya Voinitsky Vasliovich!" She bounced as he kissed her hand. "Well, this is unexpected. Oh, but look at me; where are my manners? Come in, come in, everyone. I'm palpitating with amazement, and shock, and surprise. All three!"

Everyone stepped inside, but Dimitri made sure to shut the door before Pooka and Kyokan could get inside. The two ran to the window box and stared inside as everyone sat down in the drawing room.

Vlad cleared his throat. "May I present her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna!"

"Oh, my heavens." Sophie walked around Anya, looking her up and down. "She certainly does look like Anastasia! But so did many of the others…" And so the questions began. Hours upon hours of question after question. Finally… "Finally, you'll most likely find this an impertinent question, but indulge me. How did you escape the siege of the palace?"

Dimitri and Vlad exchanged nervous looks and the others glanced between one another as Anya began fiddling with the strange necklace she wore, her gaze distant. "There was a boy, a boy who worked in the palace. He opened a wall…" She blinked. "I'm sorry, that's crazy. Walls opening."

"So, is she a Romanov?"

"Well," Sophie picked up one of the tea trays, "she answered every question."

Everyone's faces lit up. "You did it!" Xion hugged the older girl.

"So, when does she get to see the Empress?" Mickey asked.

"I'm afraid she doesn't…"

Vlad took the woman's hand. "Come again, my pet."

"The Empress simply won't allow it."

"Now Sophie," Vlad embraced her, "my bright diamond. Surely you can think of some way to arrange a brief interview with the Dowager."

The woman thought for a moment before bouncing happily. "Do you like the Russian ballet? I believe they're performing in Paris tonight; the Dowager Empress and I love the Russian ballet. We never miss it." Vlad and Dimitri went to out talk, and Sophie looked around the room. "Oooh! We must get you all something to wear! We must go shopping! And don't worry about paying! I'll take care of it!"

"Really!?"

"Of course!"

* * *

The boys all found themselves waiting on the girls at the step of the Opera house. They all wore slacks, a white shirt, a black coat with a long tail in the back, and a vest and tie of different colors: Sora's red, Riku's purple, Donald's royal blue, Mickey's silver, Goofy's green, Ven's sky blue, Roxas' orange, and Lea's yellow. Dimitri and Vlad wore something similar.

Vlad paced nervously, but Dimitri seemed sad. "We don't have anything to be nervous about. She's the princess…"

"I know, I know but…"

"No, no, no you don't know." Dimitri huffed before calming. "I was the boy, the one in the palace. The one who opened the wall." Everyone's eyes turned to him. "She's the real thing, Vlad."

"So, Anya really is Anastasia…"

"That means our Anya has found her family! We have found the heir to the Russian throne. And you…"

"Will walk out of her life forever," Dimitri clenched the hat in his hands as Vlad reached out to him. "Princess' don't marry kitchen boys." He sighed. "We're going to act like nothing is wrong and nothing has changed.

"Dimitri, you have to tell her."

"Tell me what?" Anya stood behind them, a warm robe covering her. The other girls stood behind her with fluffy coats covering them as well.

Dimitri coughed. "Uh, how beautiful you look."

"Well, thank you." Dimitri took her arm and they went inside.

Sora walked to Kairi, holding out his arm. "Y-you look great."

"So do you…"

"Nami," Ven ran over and took the girl's arm, "may I be your escort?"

"Uh, s-sure."

Roxas and Xion walked towards each other immediately, following the lead of the others since they had no real idea of what to do in this situation. Lea walked to Aqua and bowed. "Mind if I escort you?"

"What would Sera say," the girl giggled.

"She won't mind me helping a friend, as it would be a crime to let you go without an escort." They laughed and followed the rest of the others indoors.

The boys all checked in the coats for the girls, and only then did they see the lovely dresses they wore; Ven, Roxas, and Sora instantly blushed. Lea grinned and muttered something about what he'd say if he were single.

Kairi wore a sleeveless pink dress with a short skirt in the front with the rest trailing behind like a ball gown, covered in a pink veil. She really did look like the Princess she was.(5)

Naminé wore a sleeveless white dress that fell to her knees. A bead of pearls circled her waist and a lace choker adorned her neck.

Xion wore a black dress that fell to the middle of her thighs. A black lace top formed the sleeves and neckline of the dress.

Aqua wore a long deep purple dress with a longer skirt in the back; the neckline came up like a turtleneck around her throat.

"You ladies look amazing."

"Thank you…"

But none held a candle to Anya who stood at the top of the staircase. The glittering navy dress flowed behind her and sparkled with her long white gloves. But all the ladies in their group seemed to steal the attention of others with their beauty as they all walked to their opera boxes to watch the show.

Across the hall, they could see Sophie with a woman who had to be the Dowager Empress. Anya, sitting in a box with Dimitri and Vlad, seemed so nervous as the curtain rose and the ballet started.

Ven and Aqua both noticed that parts of the ballet seemed familiar, but they couldn't seem to place where they knew it from.(6)

The performance reached its intermission and everyone began to rise. Anya and Dimitri quickly left their booth, heading for the Empress'. "Do you think it'll go well?"

"Yeah," Ven smiled. "Dimitri apparently worked at the palace, and that thing Anya said about the servant boy opening the wall. That was Dimitri and it was something only the real Anastasia could know. She's the real thing."

"Wow!"

"Come on," her friend pulled her up. "Let's go watch the reunion!" The two went down the hall, joining up with the rest of the group who seemed to have the same idea. As they reached the box, they saw Anya waiting outside and heard raised voices from the box.

"But if your highness will… just listen." Dimitri sounded desperate, and no one could blame him.

An elderly voice, presumably that of the empress, snapped back. "Dimitri, I've heard of you. You're that con man from St. Petersburg, who was holding auditions to find an Anastasia look-a-like."

Everyone froze. A con man?

"This was all a trick?"

"No way…"

"But he said…"

Kairi looked at Anya, who stared at the box entrance with wide, unblinking eyes. "Anya…"

"But your grace," Dimitri continued, "we've come all the way from Russia just to see you."

"And others have come from Timbuktu."

"No! It's not that! It's not what you think!"

Guards pushed into the box as the Empress sighed. "How much pain will you inflict on an old woman for money? Remove him at once!"

"But she is Anastasia, I'm telling you! She's the Grand Duchess. If you'll only speak to her, you'll see!" After a scuffle, the guards threw Dimitri out of the box.

He looked up to see Anya staring down at him. "It was all a lie, wasn't it?"

"No, no…"

"You used me… I-I was just a part of your con to get her money!"

"No, no, no, no," He stood up, slowly stepping towards her, "look it may have started out that way, but everything's different now because you really are Anastasia, you are!"

"No! Stop it! From the very beginning, you lied… and I not only believed you, I-I actually…"

"Anya, please. When you spoke of the hidden door in the wall opening that time, and the little boy… Listen to me, that was…"

"NO! I don't want to hear about anything I said or remembered! You just leave me alone!" She turned to storm off, but Dimitri grabbed her arm. Before he could say anything, Anya turned and slapped him, sending him to the ground, before she ran off into the crowd.

Dimitri pulled himself off the ground, staring after her. The others stood by, glaring at him. Sora suddenly felt Jiminy on his shoulder, the cricket's eyes narrowed with an unfamiliar intensity. "Dimitri!" For his size, Jiminy could be quite loud when he wanted to be; the man turned, wincing under the glares he saw. "You look at me. I heard what you said outside the opera house. Now, look me in the eyes and tell me if that was true or not. You claim that you were that boy; if that's the truth than Anya is who you say she is, but that will not repair the damage that has been done. Now, is it true or not?"

The man looked into the eyes of the cricket. "It's true. She's the real Anastasia."

For a minute, the two stared at one another; then, Jiminy sighed. "Alright… We will try to talk to Anya. Not for your sake but for hers." Dimitri said nothing but merely turned away and disappeared into the crowd.

"Jiminy?"

"Let's go find, Anya…" Jiminy sat down on Sora's shoulder. "All we can do now is help her."

They paused as the empress came out of her box. She looked at them curiously. "I hope you're not with that young man."

"We were, but we didn't know about the con." Kairi sighed, "We just wanted to help our friend try and find her family. Please, your grace, if you get the chance, speak to her. She didn't know either. All she wants is to find her family; if she's not Anastasia then she's alright with that, but she wants to know."

The older woman looked at the girl, her expression softening. "My dear, I am tired of being conned and tricked, but there is an honest look in your eye that I have not seen in anyone who has come to see me. I will think about it."

"Thank you." The old woman headed towards the entrance, no longer interested in the ballet. The others went towards the exit as well. Just as they stepped outside, they saw the empress get into a car.

Suddenly, Dimitri jumped in the driver's seat and drove off with the Empress. "Dimitri!?"

"Oh crud…"

"We need to get to Sophie's house; that's probably where he's going."

Fortunately, many cabs lined the street to take people from the opera house, so it did not take them long to reach Sophie's. The Empress' car sat beside the house; they could see Dimitri walking away, slowly, off into the darkness.

"Kairi," Sora turned to her. "We'll go get Dimitri. You find Anya."

"Got it." When the car stopped, Kairi hurried inside as the others followed the young man, who climbed into another cab and left. The princess went up to the room where all their luggage had been placed, but when she opened the door, she found the empress and Anya hugging one another, joyful, tearful expressions on their faces.

They'd found each other…

* * *

"Ten million munny as promised, with my gratitude." Everyone stood in front of the empress; she'd summoned them the next day to present a reward to them. They'd passed Dimitri, but he hurried away without speaking to them.

"We're glad we can help, but we don't want the munny." Sora grinned.

"What do you me-" Riku kicked Donald as the duck began to protest.

The Empress seemed surprised. "This is the second time today the reward munny had been refused…"

"The second time? Wait, Dimitri didn't take it?"

"He did not," the older woman sat down. "What he truly wants is something I cannot give him." She chuckled as the others shared a knowing look. "Is there anything I can offer you, anything at all?"

Mickey bowed. "We're just happy to help a friend find her family. That is reward enough for us."

"Well, I will see you at the celebration tonight, won't I? Anastasia is excited to see you all there."

"We will be there."

"Very good." the woman smiled. "I look forward to it."

* * *

The grand ballroom glittered with gold as people poured in, all dressed in their finest for the princess.

Sora and Kairi spun around on the dancefloor among the couples, wearing the same outfits they wore to the ballet. They could see Ven and Naminé dancing nearby, same with Roxas and Xion.

Aqua stood to the side with some of the others, a sad, longing look on her face as she watched the couples dancing. Riku leaned over to Lea and whispered something in his ear. They both nodded before walking over to the older girl. "Aqua," Lea bowed, "May I have this dance, and I believe Riku called the next one."

"Oh?" She laughed. "Thank you, both of you." The redhead swept her onto the dance floor, and they joined the fun.

Sora spun Kairi around, her dress brushing against him before he smiled. "Hey, you alright?"

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"Well, I mean with the whole Xemnas fiasco…"

The princess' eyes fell. "Oh, that. I mean, I'm alright, but I'm sad and confused too. I still don't know why I do that glowing thing with the wings. I heard what Xemans said, the 'Aeris', or something, but that doesn't explain why this is happening to me. And, there's obviously the thing with my parents. Sora, I almost freed them. I could feel it; they were so close."

"Then there's hope." Sora let go of her hand and placed his palm against her cheek, lovingly. "Your parents are in there, and we can reach them. We will reach them."

"Thank you, Sora." She leaned slightly to the left. "Looks like Anya, I mean, Anastasia is nervous about coming out." Sora turned and saw the girl peeking out from behind the curtains near the throne, where she was to make her entrance. "I don't blame her, though. She went from having almost nothing to being a princess overnight…"

"Why don't we go give her some encouragement?" The boy danced Kairi closer to the throne so that when they stopped, they stood clear of all the other dancers. As they approached the throne, the empress stepped from behind the curtains. The two bowed. "Your Grace. We were wondering if we could talk to Anastasia; she seemed nervous."

The old woman smiled. "Of course. Go right ahead."

They pushed past the curtain, expecting to see their friend, but they only saw a shadow moving off down a hallway. "An-Anasta… whatever! Anya!" They ran after her.

Anya stood in the hallway, staring back, having heard their cries. "Oh, it's you two."

"Where are you going, Anya?"

"After Pooka," she continued to walk on, and the two followed. "He went this way."

"We'll help you find him." Kairi reached down and pulled off the heels she wore in order to keep up, but when she paused, something pulled on the back of her dress. "Huh?" Kyokan stood there, the hem of her dress in his mouth as he pulled. "What is it, boy?" Her eyes turned as Sora and Anya moved further ahead. "I'll be back soon, boy." Pulling him off her dress, she set the Unversed down and hurried after the other two.

Kyokan followed until the three walked into the large topiary garden outside; as soon as they entered, hedges sprang up, trapping them inside. The Unversed yipped before turning around and running back inside.

Sora, Kairi, and Ayna continued after Pooka, but the Keyblade wielders felt their senses heighten as they moved further into the dark maze of plants.

"Something's very wrong…" As the boy looked around a hedge shot up, blocking their escape. "Uh, Anya. Is there anyone who has a grudge against you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just that it feels like someone wants you dead. Remember on the train; everything seemed to go wrong, and then you almost slept walked off the edge of a boat."

" _Anastasia…_ " They all froze as a deep, whispy voice echoed around them.

The duchess put a hand up to steady the glittering tiara she wore, as it almost fell as she turned around to look for the speaker. "I think you're right, Sora, but I don't know who wants me dead."

Out of the shadows, Pooka came running, barking as he all but leapt into Anya's arms. The hedges shot up again, boxing them in on all sides but one. Out of the darkness, Neoshadows began oozing from the shadows.

"Anya, run!" The two summoned their Keyblades as the Heartless leapt at them.

Kairi leapt back as one swiped at her. "Ugh! Fighting in this dress sucks!"

"Good thing you took off the heels though."

"No kidding!" The girl slashed at one, its talons ripping the skirt she wore. Suddenly, screaming rang out from behind them. "Anya!" They turned, running towards the screams with the Heartless trailing behind. They came out of the garden onto a bridge where the bridge and water below it were covered in ice.

The girl, her crown gone and dress ripped to tatters, batted away little green monsters that glowed, a glow that matched a reliquary in the hands of an old, bent, man with a long beard. "What's this?" He cried, "Your friends have come to save you… too late I'm afraid!"

Ayna batted the last monster away and snapped at the man. "I'm not afraid of you, Rasputin!"

Rasputin? Sora and Kairi remembered hearing Vlad mention him as the man who claimed that the royal family would die. He did all of this. The old man laughed. "I can fix that! Care for a little swim under the ice? Your friends are free to join! And don't worry about the others at the party… they'll have their hands full" Green smoke curled from the reliquary, sprouting lightning which cracked the bridge beneath their feet; another piece of the smoke broke off, shooting skyward as it arced down towards the ballroom. A blast of ice cold air blew the three back. Anya landed on a large piece of the bridge that slanted down towards the ice; she managed to grab a piece of stone, but the entire slab cracked and began to fall.

"ANYA!"

* * *

"Has anyone seen Sora or Kairi?" Riku took a sip of the punch in his hand.

"No, now that you mention it…"

Xion opened her mouth to speak, but only a startled squeak came out as something slammed into her leg. "Kyokan!?" The Unversed shook its head after the impact but quickly recovered. It ran to Roxas, grabbing the leg of his pants in its mouth and began to pull.

"What's up with the Yenlow?"

Xion looked down at it. "It wants us to follow. Maybe it has something to do with Sora and Kairi!"

"Alright, let's g-."

The glass roof shattered; the partygoers screamed as they shielded themselves from the falling glass. Green smoke billowed into the room and turned black, sucking in all the glass shards. It formed a giant Heartless which looked like a large black bat(7). The glass came together around its midsection, forming a glass tube which pulsed with green energy. The Arca(8) Heartless let out a loud screech, forcing everyone to cover their ears. The glass tube released a small cloud of green smoke, from which came smaller bat-like Heartless, pulsing with green veins; these Chiroptera(9) Heartless spread out, charging at the partygoers.

"Aqua! Riku!" Mickey yelled, summoning his Keyblade. "We need to stop that thing! The rest of you, protect the other guests!"

"ON IT!"

Aqua, Riku, and Mickey charged forward slashing at the giant Heartless as it continued to spawn more and more Chiroptera Heartless.

* * *

"Say your prayers, Anastasia!" Rasputin cheered. "No one can save you!"

"Wanna bet!?" Dimitri ran up, punching the old man in the face.

Sora and Kairi got up just as Dimitri jumped down and began to pull Anya back up. "Yeah, Dimitri!" Heartless began swarming the young man, but the Keybearers charged in, keeping the dark creatures back.

Rasputin stared down at Anya and Dimitri as the young man pulled her to safety. "How enchanting, 'together again' for the last time!" He fired a blast of green energy which shot Dimitri high into the air and onto the back of one of the giant stone pegasi that stood on the corners of the bridge. "You'll get a kick out of this!" The pegasus cracked and began to move, coming to life as it leapt into the air, Dimitri still on its back. It bucked the young man off and he rolled across the bridge.

"Look out!" Sora dove, pushing Kairi to the ground as the stone pegasus barreled down on them.

"Thanks… Anya!" Kairi reached out for the girl as Rasputin grabbed the duchess' hair.

"Dasvidaniya, your highness." He threw her down, the girl falling with a scream.

"NO!"

"Finally! The last Romanov death!"

"No! ANYA!"

* * *

Aqua fired off Prism Rain(10), the colorful blasts peppering the giant Heartless. "We need to destroy that glass tube! I'll keep making the smaller Heartless until we do."

"Right!" Mickey leapt over the arm of the Arca as it attempted to squish him. He plunged the blade into the glass tube, causing it to crack, but it refused to break. The mouse jumped back as Riku ran up, slashing at it. The Heartless brought up its arm, batting the boy away.

Riku pulled up his left arm to block. When the attack hit, he heard a familiar crunch from his wrist as pain shot up his arm, deadening his senses for a moment as he hit the floor. "I knew I should've worn it under my suit…"

"Riku!" Roxas ran over, helping the boy up. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just take this thing down."

* * *

Sora jumped up, slamming his Keyblade on a wing of the stone pegasus as Kairi ran to the edge of the bridge, hoping to find a sign of Anya. Out of the corner of his eye, the boy saw two delicate hands come up from over the edge of the bridge, and pull up a person.

Rasputin cackled as he stared down at the freezing water. "Long live the Romanovs!"

"Right!" Anya stood up from where she'd pulled herself up. "I couldn't have said it better myself!" She charged the man, slamming into him as they struggled for the reliquary. Kairi and Dimitri ran to help, but the stone pegasus landed between them and Anya.

Sora and Kairi both slashed at its legs, shattering them just as Rasputin blasted Anya back. Suddenly, Pooka jumped up, grabbing the reliquary in his mouth, tearing it away from the old man.

The small tube rolled until Anya's food stopped it. She pressed down, cracking the magical device as Rasputin weakly reached for it. When the first crack appeared, the stone pegasus gave a loud whinny and broke apart, sending stones everywhere. One tumbled down and slammed into Dimitri's head, bringing him to the ground, where he lay unmoving.

"Dimitri!"

"This is for Dimitri!" Anya glared furiously at the struggling old man as she pressed down with her foot, cracking the reliquary further.

"Give it back!"

The girl kept pressing. "This is for my family!"

"I'll tear you to pieces!"

"And this, this is for you!" Her eyes met his. "Dasvidanya!" With one last stomp, Anya shattered the reliquary.

Green energy exploded outward. Green monsters, the same ones he sent after his enemies swarmed in the sky before bearing down on Rasputin.

* * *

Aqua and Mickey ran towards the Heartless, ready to slash it at the same time, but before they reached it, an explosion shattered the air. The Heartless suddenly began dissolving, turning into the small green bat-like creatures which flew out of the shattered ceiling and vanished.

"Wait… what just happened?"

* * *

Green cracks webbed across Rasputin's skin before his skin and muscle began to melt off, leaving a trembling skeleton which crumbled away and turned to dust.

Anya hurried over to Dimitri who lay amongst the rubble of the stone pegasus. Sora knelt beside him, already casting Cure. The young man groaned and sat up, holding his head. "Ow…"

"Dimitri!" The duchess threw her arms around him as Sora and Kairi stepped back. "I thought you were going back to St. Peters…"

"I was…"

"You didn't take the…"

"I couldn't."

"Why?"

Dimitri placed his hand on Anya's cheek. "Because I…" He leaned in, but just as their lips drew close, Pooka barked. The dog stared up at them, Anya's crown in his mouth. Dimitri took the crown and handed it to the girl. "Oh, they're waiting for you…"

She stared at the crown. "Kairi, can you do me a favor?"

"Of course. What is it?"

* * *

Kairi and Sora came back inside where the others waited with the empress and Sophie; the princess carried a hatbox with a letter tied to the outside.

"There you guys are!" Lea teased. "You wouldn't happen to have something to do with the giant Heartless that crashed the party vanishing."

Kairi smirked. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She giggled and handed the box to the Empress. "Here, An-, I mean Anastasia asked me to give you this."

"Thank you." The old woman set the box down and opened it, gasping slightly as she saw Anastasia's crown. She turned her attention to the letter, and as she read, her face softened before she showed it to her cousin.

Sophie instantly burst into tears. "They've eloped! Isn't that romantic!"

"Wait! Anya and Dimitri!?"

"That's right!" Sora laughed.

Sophie dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. "It's a perfect ending."

"No," the Empress smiled, "it's a perfect beginning."

* * *

"Kairi, are you sure…?"

"I am Nami."

The two girls sat in Kairi's room on the gummi ship. The blonde brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "This won't be pleasant."

"Nami," the princess sighed. "I know, and I'm ready. I can't fear my past any longer. I need to know it. So, what do I need to do?"

Naminé took her former Somebody's hands. "Take a deep breath and close your eyes."

Kairi took in a long breath as she shut her eyes. As she went to let the air out, something snapped. Memories began flooding into her mind and heart, scenes, happy and sad rushed past her closed eyes, and she saw them all clearly.

Emotions welled up within her.

Her mother and father…

Lea, Isa, Sasuke…

Ansem…

Tears began spilling from her eyes, both happy and sad all at once. The joyful tears of those happy moments where her mother would snuggle her close and tell her stories, and when her father would let her stand on his feet and dance with her. The painful tears of watching Xehanort murder her grandmother, and the pain she felt when Xehanort threw her mother's favorite broach and her father's sword at her feet, both covered in blood, their blood.

Kairi let out a long cry of agony as the pain from that last night in Radiant Garden struck her heart like an arrow, the pain spreading like wildfire.

Naminé could do nothing but watch, and it pained her to do so. She stood up and slowly walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind her.

"Naminé, what's going on?" The girl turned to see everyone standing behind her. "We heard shouting and crying. Is Kairi alright?"

"Sh-she asked me to unlock all the memories of her past, and so I did…"

No one spoke. The only sounds were the humming of the ship and Kairi's sobs from inside her room. "Can I see her?" Sora finally asked.

"If you want." The blonde stepped aside as Sora went into the room.

Slowly, the others dispersed, until only Riku, Aqua, and Jiminy remained. The cricket sighed. "Well, if there was ever a time to put our idea into motion, I believe now is the time."

"I agree…"

* * *

"Who took my pillow and bedsheets!?" Lea stormed out of his room dressed in nothing but a pair of shorts. He came into the common area only to freeze. "Uh, what is this?"

Pillows and blankets lay around the room, making it feel like a sleepover. Bowls of popcorn sat around as did a few boxes of games.

Sora sat on a pillow with Kairi beside him. The others all sat around as well, with Jiminy in the center. The cricket smiled. "And there's Lea. Looks like we're all here."

"What is this?"

"We've been through a lot lately, I think we're well overdue for relaxation. So, I believe a game night is in order."

"Alright then." The pyro sat down. "What are we playing first?"

* * *

"Yes! I am the queen of 9's(11)!" Kairi grinned as she won yet another round of cards. The games sucked all the negative atmosphere from the room as they played.

Xion grabbed the deck of cards and began to shuffle them. "This was a great idea!"

"Yeah," Riku sighed, "well, I guess it's time to let the cat out of the bag." Everyone looked at him. "Aqua and I thought that, since we've all been through a lot lately, and even tonight…" He glanced over at Kairi, "we thought we should take some time and talk through some of the stuff we've been through. Jiminy suggested we do something else at the same time to make it less awkward, so that's what this is(12). So, I'll start… I guess."

For the next few hours, they talked while they played games. Riku talking about his sister and how some things brought those old memories back.

Aqua spoke of her past, the death of her parents and of her master; she'd lost all the parental figures in her life, she'd lost Terra, and for a time she'd lost Ven. More than anything, she feared losing everything again.

Jiminy talked about his concern for Pinocchio back on his homeworld, and how he worried each and every day about the friends he traveled with. He felt helpless only being able to watch and not do anything to fight or help protect them.

Mickey mentioned how much he missed Minnie and how it frightened him that there was a chance that he wouldn't make it back to her. Donald and Goofy said similar things, both worried about dying and never seeing their loved ones or home again.

Ven told everyone about how he'd grown up as an orphan and how he'd met Xehanort. He worried about the future more than anything, wondering where he would go when Xehanort lost, as he had faith that they would win no matter what. He expressed his concern over Vanitas and how his other half must be hurting, prompting Kyokan to curl up in the boy's lap as if to say thanks.

Lea spoke of his family, his father being gone for so long, and about Isa. He loved having Kairi and Sasuke back, and he was really happy to have Roxas and Xion back, but he knew Isa was suffering under Xehanort. He recounted his promise that he made to Xion that he extended to all he knew as friends, that he would always be there to bring them back. He would bring Isa back, he had to.

Roxas talked about his anger at Xemnas, Xehanort, and still at Ansem. He did not know if he could forgive the ruler of Radiant Garden for what he'd done, but he admitted there was a change in the old man. He told of the joy he felt at having his own heart and self, and of the fear of having nowhere to go when their adventure was over.

Naminé and Xion both felt the same as Roxas when it came to where they would go when this was all over. Xion, unlike Roxas, felt no real grudge against Ansem as she'd only met him a few times, but she hated Xemnas, and, as much as she didn't want to hurt Lea, she admitted that she didn't trust Isa because of all his Nobody had done to her. To her surprise, Lea understood and told her that she'd have to meet Isa and get to know him for who he really was.

Naminé did hold some anger against Ansem, but much of her anger and fear clung to Larxene and Marluxia. While she hadn't seen them or their Somebodies, Lea told her that they were both native to Radiant Garden(13), so she feared meeting them again. She feared what Xehanort would make her do if he captured her, but the others reassured her that they would never let that happen. She told them about her dreams and how she worried that they were the future plans of one of their enemies. And she spoke of Repliku and how she worried about him; Riku admitted that he seemed so innocent, and the two of them agreed to reach out to him in some sort of attempt to bring them to their side.

Kairi recounted everything. The happy times with her parents, the silly playdates with Lea, Isa, and Sasuke, the fear of being captured by the Insurgos as a child, the anxiety from when a rockslide trapped her and Lea under a pile of rubble, and the absolute terror she felt from that last night when Xehanort took everything from her. She wished to save her parents, no matter what.

When it came to Sora, he spoke for a short amount of time, mainly on how angry he was at Xehanort for what he'd done, and he swore that he'd save all those Xehanort had under his control.

The games ended and some gathered up their sheets to go back to their actual beds, while others just curled up on the floor next to one another. A breath of fresh air seemed to be all around them. Releasing the negativity out for others to hear and to comfort them about lifted weights from their shoulders… for all but one.

Sora closed the door to his room, glad to be alone for a little bit. He'd seen the others, seen how their burdens lightened as they spoke. While his. His only grew. With nearly every story told, every emotion expressed, Sora felt heavier. He'd admitted his anger at Xehanort, but not all of it. Hearing everyone talk about what Xehanort did to them rekindled the anger within him, and it burned bright even now. Thankfully, he was good at putting on a smile when he needed to; his friends needed him to be that encouragement they always came to him for.

He couldn't let his own feelings stop him from helping them.

Amongst the anger, he felt a twinge of guilt. Roxas and Xion… so much of their suffering revolved around him and the Organization's attempts to copy his abilities and claim them as their own. That made him the true cause of their pain, didn't it?

These thoughts swirled in his mind as he remade his bed and laid down, but even as he slept, these feelings pestered him, the burden weighing down on him as if someone laid an anvil on his chest. And in this restless dream, he found himself unaware of the small swirls of darkness that surrounded him.

* * *

 **So… yeah…**

 **Please review**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This is based on the beginning of _Pinocchio_ , where Jiminy was going to sleep in a matchbox.

(2) The one in my Naminé pack on Deviantart.

(3)Yami and I discussed this. This blade is magically enhanced to channel Wind magic.

(4) This is a command style exclusive to Ven.

(5) All of these are based on the mmd models I made (or in Aqua's case, will make) of the girls.

(6) If you watch the scenes in the movie, you can tell that the ballet is for Cinderella; I would say they didn't see the title because it would be in French.

(7) Kinda like the creatures that come from Rasputin's reliquary.

(8) Arca is a synonym for reliquary.

(9) Chiroptera is the scientific name for bats.

(10) Aqua's shotlock.

(11) This is a game my family plays nearly every time we get together.

(12) This and some other pieces of the next scene I got from Faded Phantom's story "Eclipse of the Heart"... seriously, go read this story, it is phenomenal!

(13) I know we know about Marly's Somebody, but I built up lore about him before we knew about that, and I can't really change it now.

* * *

 **Identity Crisis**

In the last chapter's devo, I talked about identity, and I have a second part on that.

The last thing I asked was where should you get your identity.

Finding our identity in what we can do, what we have, or how much people like us will never be satisfying. Only when we find our identity in Christ will we really find out who we are.

First, we are made in the image of God. A perfect, all-powerful being and we are made in his image. When God created everything, he spoke it into existence, except when it came to humans. He formed them with his own hands and breathed life into them.

In Jeremiah, it is written that God forms us in the womb. He knows who we are and what we will be like before we are born.

Despite what we may do in life, to God, we are still worth saving. Even if only one human existed, Jesus would still die to save them. We are loved, we are heirs with Christ, and if we accept him, we are adopted as His children. We are royalty, we have destiny, and we have hope.

That is who we are. Our identity.


	31. Chapter 31: Les Tayny- Spring

**Hi guys!**

 **Sorry if this took a long time. I hurt my wrist so writing is hard (carpal tunnel stinks).**

 **Well, I was going to have a new world here based on an anime, but it didn't work out, so I just skipped it, and there will be a reference to that world in a few chapters.**

 **And FYI Beast Castle WILL NOT be appearing in this story. This world is actually replacing it.**

 **This world is one of my own creation, and I have to give thanks to the people in the sokai discord group I'm a part of. They helped me out with this chapter.**

 **The name of this world, just so you know, is Russian for "Forest of Mystery".**

 **Well, let's get to it.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Fantasia 2000 © to Disney!**

* * *

 **Chapter 31: Les Tayny- Spring**

* * *

" _Sora…"_

 _The boy slept soundly, finding himself walking though silver grass in his dreams. This place, where he'd gotten his Keyblade. He summoned Key to the Kingdom and looked at it._

" _How is it working for you?" The same voice; the one belonging to the person who gave him the Keyblade._

 _Sora wanted to turn, but he couldn't. "I-It's working great. I never thanked you for giving it to me."_

" _It's no trouble, Sora."_

" _Um, who are you?"_

 _The voice fell silent again. "That you will discover in due time. But I came to give you a warning… don't lock feelings away in your heart. They will fester, and grow until they boil over. They also attract darkness…"_

" _I understand…"_

" _Something tells me that you really don't." The voice sighed, "But some people need to learn the hard way. Goodnight, Sora."_

* * *

Sora's eyes popped open. He sat up in bed, glancing about the darkness around him as he stood up. Going into the hallway, he could see that many of the others were up, as the light in the kitchen lit up the hall.

"Morning."

"Morning," Roxas looked up from the stove. "Hey, Lea showed me how to make pancakes, so I'm going to try and do it myself. Hopefully, I don't burn the ship down."

The boy laughed. "Yeah, that would suck."

"Sora, Kairi's in the cockpit, just so you know."

"Thanks." Walking to the cockpit, Sora could hear Kairi speaking to someone, and when he opened the door, he could see Ansem the Wise's face on the screen. "Good morning."

" _Good morning, Sora._ " The old ruler smiled kindly. " _Kairi and I were just discussing the past._ "

"I figured."

Ever since she got her memories back, Kairi would contact Ansem every day to talk. Sora would sit in sometimes; he loved seeing Kairi so happy. She really did miss her family, and now that she remembered them, she wanted to spend as much time as she could with them. So, again he sat and listened to them talk. He left once to grab breakfast for himself and Kairi; toast since Roxas burned the pancakes.

After a few hours, the proximity alarm echoed around the room.

"Oh, sorry Uncle Ansem looks like I've gotta go."

" _I understand, my dear. Please, be safe._ "

"I will! Bye!" The princess shut down the communications link as the others came in. "Looks like we found a new world."

"Let's go then!"

* * *

"Well, this is dreary." Xion lightly kicked at some brown grass under a gray sky. A cold wind blew across the land, shaking the leafless trees and blowing about some small pockets of snow resting beneath the trees. Towering over the forest stood a tall and dark mountain.

Goofy pointed. "Hey look, light."

Through the trees, they could see a warm glow. They walked towards it and found themselves at the edge of a small village made of small wooden homes. People quietly, but happily, bustled about. And while no lanterns or torches hung anywhere, a warm light blanketed the village.

"Look at that!" In the middle of the town stood a tall pole of iron with a glass ball on top. The light came from it, and inside the ball, everyone could see a feather, looking as if it was made of fire, glowing.

"The feather is lighting everything up?"

"Of course!" A little boy smiled up at them from where he sat on a nearby doorstep. "That's a feather from the Firebird!" He bowed, his black cap dipping over his auburn hair. "My name is Albert Borisov." He straightened his shirt, a black tunic with yellow on the collar which buttoned down on the left side of his shoulder, as he stood back up.

A woman came out of the house Albert had been in front of. She looked around her long white apron, which covered a red and white shirt and heavy black skirt, swishing as she did so. "Albert!" She spotted the boy and came over, pushing a strand of blonde hair under the kerchief which covered her head. "I told you to stay on the steps."

"Sorry, Mama, but we have visitors. They were wondering about the feather."

The woman looked up at the group, studying them closely. "I have never seen you before…"

"No ma'am," Kairi curtsied. "We just arrived. My name is Kairi."

"A pleasure to meet you, Kairi." The woman smiled. "My name is Oxana Borisov." The others introduced themselves before Oxana turned back to her house. "Please, why don't you all come inside?"

"Thank you, Miss Oxana."

They all went inside and sat in the small but comfortable home. The woman and her son brought around some warm bread and drink for everyone before they sat down. "So, you don't know about the feather?"

"Your son said it was from the Firebird, but we don't know anything else."

Albert grinned. "Mama! Tell them the story! Tell them, Mama!"

"Alright, son." The woman stood up, opening a window that faced the tall mountain. "Many years ago a sorcerer named Kaschei the Immortal lived up on that mountain. He was powerful and everyone respected and feared him. In this very village, there lived a girl, an orphan, whose name has been lost to time; she was known for her embroidery. It was famous and the most beautiful. Kaschei heard of her and came down one day to request that she come to serve him, but the girl refused. Angered by her refusal, Kaschei turned the girl into a Firebird and took her back to the mountain; the bird, scared and saddened, shed a single feather as a way to say goodbye to her home. That's the feather that now lights our village."

"What happened to the girl?"

Albert pointed to the mountain. "Kaschei had an apprentice who was about the same age as I am, and when he found out what his master had done, he confronted Kaschei. The sorcerer turned into a giant raven to kill his student, but the boy sealed him away, trapping him in stone, but Kaschei grabbed the Firebird in a talon as the spell took effect, which sealed the Firebird away too. They are still there, trapped on the mountain; the student left to try and find a way to free the Firebird without freeing his master, but he hasn't come back since then."

Xion laid a hand on her heart. "That's so sad…"

"That it is." Oxana sighed and closed the window. "We've kept watch on that mountain for thousands of years, for if we see smoke rising from it then we know that Kaschei has escaped. Now, I have to run some errands; you are welcome to stay here as long as you wish."

"Thank you."

The woman smiled as she and her son left. Jiminy perched himself on Riku's shoulder. "This seems like a relatively peaceful world."

"Yes it does," Mickey admitted, "But I wonder if we could help the Firebird on the mountain. The people here seem fine, but she needs help."

Aqua nodded. "I agree. We can ask around and see if we could figure something out about her or how to free her."

For hours they walked around, talking to different people. Everyone it seemed, knew the story, but no one had any idea on how to help the trapped Firebird. Actually, no one knew anything about magic at all or how to stop or fix it.

When they spoke to the village leader, he said that only Kaschei knew magic and taught it to only one person, his apprentice. As for the apprentice, not only did no one know his name or how to find him, but the incident with the Firebird happened over 4000 years before.

With no leads at all, the group made their way back to Albert and Oxana's home. There, they spent the night, listening to the cold wind beat against the sides of the house.

* * *

 _Naminé found herself, in her dreams, standing inside a house. Small. Cozy. Warm. Inviting._

 _She looked around and felt as if she'd been there before, but she couldn't place it. Suddenly, darkness began seeping from the walls and Heartless crawled out. Between the spots of darkness, the walls of the house caught flame._

 _Naminé could only watch as darkness and fire consumed the happy home. Amongst the roar of the fire, the girl heard screaming. And for a moment, she thought she heard... laughter._

 _The roof of the house cracked and caved in, crashing down on the girl._

* * *

Naminé sat up, gasping as the dream still clung to her mind.

"Are you alright, dear?" Oxana stood by the stone oven, looking down at her.

"Just a bad dream."

"If you say so."

The girl got up and waited until everyone else left sleep behind. They sat around, eating the small bowls of porridge the woman gave them. They offered to help her or to pay for the meal, but Oxana refused.

Kairi cleared her throat. "Um, Miss. Oxana, I hope you don't mind me asking but is there a Mr. Borisov?"

The woman and her son stopped. "There was, once. But he fell victim to a Vilas(1)."

"A what?"

"Vilas are sprites that live around here." Albert slowly stirred his food. "We're protected from them all spring and summer; they vanish around autumn. They look like maidens with long hair dressed in white. They burn our crops, bring drought, kill our livestock…"

His mother nodded. "They are also very beautiful… men are instantly transfixed by their beauty and go after them, only to be drained of their life energy until they die. They don't come to the village usually, because we have protection, but those who leave the village might be found by them or might witness their magical dance that they have at night. My husband saw one of the dances, and the beauty dragged him into it. We found him the next day, drained of life."

"... I guess this world isn't as peaceful as we thought."

"It's just part of life here." Oxana smiled sadly. "Spring is soon to be upon us, so the Vilas will return, but so will our protector."

"Who's this protecto-?"

Outside the house, cheers began to rise up. Someone knocked hard on the door and poked their head in. "The Golden-Horned Stag(2) is here!"

"The stag!?"

"What stag?"

Albert grabbed Ven's hand, pulling him up. "Come on! We'll show you!" The group followed the mother and son outside. The entire village stood in the street, walking out of the village. At the edge of the forest, they could see a deer with fur of silver and horns of gold.

"What's going on?"

Albert smiled up at the group. "The Golden-Horned Stag is the sign of spring. He awakens Spring itself! Watch."

The town followed the stag into the forest until the animal came to a small pond with a cave in the back. The stag(3) stepped into the water and the village spread out so everyone could watch.

The deer breathed on an icicle hanging from the cave roof and a large water droplet fell into the water. Then the deer stepped back as the water began to swirl, and out of the pond rose a girl with bushy hair, she looked blue, but as she came out of the water her form turned green.

She smiled at the villagers before spreading out her arms, which merged with her body to become like flowing wings. Taking to the air, she began to fly over the ground, and as she did so, the snow melted instantly, and green grass grew.

"Whoa!" Donald gaped.

The girl flew around them. The trees burst to life with leaves, the ground became soft with green grass, and flowers appeared everywhere. Higher and higher the girl flew, growing larger.

Every villager followed her as best they could as she flew around, bringing life instantly to the land. Her mere presence chased the winter clouds away, making way for the bright sunlight of spring.

"This is amazing!" Aqua stared up at the girl as she continued her creation of spring. The group stood alone by the pond as the villagers all followed the girl.

"Yeah," Mickey nodded, "I've never seen anything like it before."

Xion, Kairi, and Naminé knelt by a patch of flowers that suddenly appeared a minute before. The blossoms seemed to glow in the new light. "It's so beautiful, everything about this is beautiful."

Xion nodded but suddenly felt something soft touching her back. She looked up to see the stag looking down at them, his soft brown eyes studying them carefully. "Oh, hi." She reached up and touched his nose, petting the soft fur.

The stag looked around the group, his eyes filled with a strange understanding as if he knew who they were and where they'd come from. He slowly walked towards the village, taking a slight detour away from the mountain.

Following the animal, the group found themselves in a small, peaceful glade. Clovers covered the ground in little pockets and in the center stood a tree covered in light pink blossoms.

"This place just gets prettier and prettier."

"Oh, you like it?"

They all jumped at the voice, looking around as giggling filled the air. "Down here." In a patch of clover sat some small men with pointed ears, dressed in clothes of leaves. "Welcome to Oskolok Olenya(4)."

"Whoa!" Sora knelt down. "Who are you?"

"We are the Vilenjak(5). We keep the stag's glade safe and green."

"Who is the stag exactly?" Aqua looked at the animal who calmly grazed near the tree. "He seems to know a lot."

One of the Vilenjak leaned back on a cloverleaf. "No one really knows. For many years he has been the one to awaken spring. He is caring and wants to protect people from evil and death. Perhaps that is why he was so interested in you. You are strangers, but good ones, we can tell."

"Then maybe he can help us." Xion cheered. "We wanted to see if we could free the Firebird on the mountain." The deer paused his eating and looked up at them. "Do you know of any way to do that?"

The stag looked up towards the mountain; they followed his gaze, and they could see the girl still bringing about spring, but she avoided the mountain entirely, and the entire area around it seemed to be covered in dark clouds.

"Oh, there is not much that can be done." Another Vilenjak shook his head. "We hoped Kaschei's apprentice would return to save her, but Uchenik Kolduna(6) has not come back since he left with a stranger over 4000 years ago."

"Unless someone is powerful enough to destroy Kaschei, she cannot be freed. And his power has grown. While his body is unable to move, his mind still works, and he has no doubt used this time to meditate and grow his power. Which means he will be far more powerful now…"

"Dang…" Ven sighed.

The first Vilenjak smiled. "It's alright, it will happen one day. Go on back to the village. Now that spring is here, the Spring festival will begin tonight."

"Alright."

* * *

The darkness of night fell upon the green land as three figures in black stood above the mountain crater. Kaname glanced over at Young Xehanort and Vanitas, both of whom looked down at the rocky figure hunched over in the center of the caldera.

"So, this is Kaschi the immortal? Doesn't look so immortal to me." Vanitas huffed.

The silver-haired boy began to walk down the rocky slope. "Do not be fooled… he is powerful, but we cannot let him roam free as he is."

"Why?" Kaname followed, his own will wanting to turn away, but his feet still followed.

"His magic has grown to a level where he is the most powerful sorcerer in all the worlds. He could kill us in an instant, and he will certainly not obey us." Xehanort looked up at the great stone bird that towered over him. "But we can remedy that."

Laying his hand on the stone figure, his fingers pulsed with darkness as it seeped into the rock.

* * *

The villagers danced around the Firebird's feather as it lit up the clear night sky. Tables laden with food lined the streets as musicians played from the steps of houses.

Everyone laughed and played. Lea dragged Roxas and Xion into one of the group dances to try and get the two to have some fun. Ven, Donald, and Goofy gorged on food as Aqua and Naminé talked, allowing some of the village girls to fix their hair up and braid flower crowns for them. Riku sat with Mickey and Jiminy, talking to some of the elders of the village, who told them the most wonderful tales about their land and the people who lived there. However, the one thing Riku wanted to know most of all no one could tell him: the name of Kaschi's apprentice. They only gave him the title of Uchenik Kolduna.

At the edge of the village, the stag lay, watching them celebrate.

Sora and Kairi danced for a time but eventually found themselves sitting near the small pond the village used to gather water from.

"Are you enjoying the festival." A soft voice spoke from above. They looked up to see the green girl float down beside them, her wings vanishing as she sat down, flowers popping up around her.

Kairi smiled. "Yeah, it's fun! And, I have to say, it was amazing watching you today."

"Thank you."

"Um," Sora scratched the back of his head, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but what are you?"

The girl giggled. "I'm a Nature Spirit, specifically a Spring Sprite; people call me Spring. I look after this village, protect it, and nurture it for spring and summer."

"So you're the protector that Oxana and Albert told us about."

"That's right." Spring looked at them. "And you are not from this world. You wield powerful magic… are you Keyblade wielders?" The two nodded. "I thought as much. I and the stag could sense it as soon as we saw you. We have not had your kind here in a long time; the last time a Keyblade wielder came here, Kaschi's apprentice left with him to go train."

"Wait," Sora turned to the girl, "that's what happened to him?"

"Yes… he swore not to return until he'd found a way to free the Firebird that he accidentally trapped. Oh, that poor boy. He could not have known. He did everything he could to save that bird, but his master ruined it, bringing guilt upon the boy."

Looking into the sky, Kairi asked. "So, you knew him?"

"I did," Spring's fingers played with one of the flowers around her, causing it to shimmer. "He asked me for help in freeing the Firebird, but I could not help him. Going to that mountain is dangerous. My magic cannot touch it, so nothing grows on that mountain."

Sora looked at the sky; he could see a band of light growing across the horizon. Was it morning already? Did they stay up all night? He didn't feel tired at all… he wondered if Spring had given them all energy to stay up so late.

"Spring, what was the boy's name, Kaschi's apprentice, I mean?"

"His name wa-"

A scream split the air, breaking all festivities and joy. Oxana stood in the middle of the square, her hand shakily pointing towards the mountain. Everyone looked, and their blood froze.

In the red light of the morning sun, smoke rose from the mountain.

* * *

 **I think this is my favorite world.**

 **This is a combination of the Fantasia 2000 Firebird segment, combined with one of the ancient myths about the Firebird. I decided not to use the ballet story, however.**

 **Again, thank you sokai discord group!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This is a sprite found in Slavic mythology, and they are also known as Samodivas or Samovilas. They are sometimes known as good creatures that turn violent on the nights of New Moons, but I'm going with the pretense that they are always violent towards people.

(2) This is another creature in Slavic myth.

(3) In Fantasia, it was an Elk, but stag just sounds so much more mythical.

(4) Russian for "Stag's Glade".

(5) Small men in Slavic myths that could be summoned if someone finds or eats a four-leaf clover, and they are supposed to bring good luck.

(6) If you really want to know what this means, you can look it up yourself ;P.

* * *

 _VAs:_

 _Oxana Borisov- Holly Hunter (Mrs. Incredible/ Helen Parr)_

 _Albert Borisov- Huck Milner (Dashielle "Dash" Parr)_

 _Spring- Morgan Mabry (Kaya Irimi, Akira "Yama" Yamashita, Hisui E. Fiore)_

* * *

 **Freedom**

For those of us in the US, today is Independence Day. So, I'll keep this short so people can spend time with their families, but this day is all about Freedom, and I wanted to remind people about the freedom God has given all of us.

Galatians 5:1 says, " _For freedom, Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery._ "

We have been freed from sin and darkness, but we do have to accept it and not give ourselves back over to sin and slavery.

And even when we are freed, sometimes we take it for granted and try to please ourselves alone thinking that because we have been freed from sin, we can do whatever we want (even sin) and we'll be alright. Only a few verses later, Paul actually discusses this.

Galatians 5:13 says, " _For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another._ "

We are called to use the love that God has given to us to love one another, as verse 14 says, " _For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'._ "

We should use the freedom we are given to help others, and this is not just for Christians. Whether you believe in God or not, this is a good word to live by, treating others kindly and sharing love, whether or not you agree with them. We have freedom and love, let's share it with others.


	32. Chapter 32: Les Tayny- Firebird

**HI guys! Ready for some crazy stuff!?**

 **BTW, I had to look this up, but if you were wondering how to say the name of this world, it's pronounced: lez tai-nay.**

 **I keep forgetting this… thanks to everyone who followed and favorited this story!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Fantasia 2000 © to Disney!**

 **Yamato © to Yamichaos27!**

 **Other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 32: Les Tayny- Firebird**

* * *

The villagers scattered, panicked as they ran to one another. "Everyone! Calm down!" Spring hovered over the people. "Do not worry, I will look into this. Perhaps it is some spirits playing a prank by lighting a fire up there. Do not panic."

"Spring!" Sora looked up towards the smoking mountain, "we'll look into it. The village needs you."

The spirit looked around. "I mean… oh, and the stag! He needs to know about this. I saw him leave earlier."

"Why don't we split up?" Jiminy suggested.

"Yeah, some of us can stay here, others can check the mountain, and others go warn the stag."

* * *

A dark corridor opened and Rimi stepped out. "So?" Young Xehanort asked.

"Kairi has gone with Riku, Lea, and Aqua."

"Good, that should keep her Aeris in check, as long as she doesn't see you two."

Rimi and Kaname glanced at one another, moving closer to hold hands. Vanitas rolled his eyes and looked at the stone bird. "And, how long should this take?"

Xehanort smirked. "Not too long, but the darkness does have to consume the sorcerer's heart, and we must see what form he decides to take either way, we must test his abilities here before we send him to the invasion site."

* * *

Sora leaned against a large boulder as they neared the mountaintop. "We're almost there."

"Good," Mickey nodded.

Donald and Goofy came up beside their king. "Do ya think we can beat this Kaschei if he has woken up."

"I don't know…"

"Sora! Look out!" Jiminy cried from the boy's shoulder.

Sora looked up just in time to see Kaname leap down on him, sword drawn. He summoned his Keyblade and blocked the attack. Rimi and Vanitas followed Kaname, the dark-haired boy immediately going after King Mickey and the woman after Donald and Goofy.

"Kaname, please. Don't do this!" The boy looked into his eyes, and past the cold control of Xehanort, he saw pain and sorrow. And a request.

Kaname wanted Sora to put him out of his misery.

* * *

"Are you sure Sora and the others will be alright?"

"Yes, Kai," Riku nodded, "they're just checking on Kaschei. If the sorcerer does wake up, he'll go after the village and so we need as many people there as we can spare."

Through the trees, they could see Oskolok Olenya(1), but something seemed off. The stag lay on the ground; it lifted its head and gave a loud, deep, moaning cry.

Aqua reached it first. "He's wounded!" Blood dripped down from a wound on the stag's back, thankfully, the wound lay far behind the shoulder(2).

"Who did thi-?" A purple arrow hit the tree next to them.

"Aw, did the wittle deer get hurt?" Braig taunted as he reloaded his arrow guns. Beside him stood the hooded figure from the boat on the last world, Repliku, and Yamato.

The group summoned their Keyblades as Aqua cast Curza on the stag, the animal getting to his feet as fast as he could before fleeing. "Why attack the stag?"

"Why not?"

Yamato charged forward, clashing with Lea as Riku charged Repliku. The young replica did not fight back. He only blocked, never making an offensive move. Braig did not notice as he went after Kairi, as the other figure found himself occupied with Aqua.

"Why aren't you fighting?" Riku asked.

"I don't… I don't know…" The boy backed up. Suddenly, a stray bullet from Braig flew towards the replica.

In an instant, Yamato appeared in front of the boy, blocking the stray attack. He paused, checking back to see if Repliku was alright before attacking Lea once again.

Riku blinked in confusion. Yamato protected Repliku?

* * *

Young Xehanort grinned as the stone flaked off the large raven, the feathers rippling to life, and an orange glow appearing from under one talon. The firebird no doubt. The raven's eyes opened to reveal soulless yellow eyes. Darkness covered the bird as the Heartless insignia appeared on its beak.

Lifting up the talon with the glow, the bird pressed it against its chest before releasing it.

Xehanort saw a bird, beautiful, with feathers of fire lay against the raven as darkness swirled around them both. The firebird looked at him with scared and confused eyes as her fire spread across the heartless, merging with it.

"Good, now show me what you can do."

* * *

Smoke began billowing into the air, covering the mountaintop before lava suddenly exploded from the peak. Sora and the others all stopped as a massive bird of lava burst from the crater.

Lava and rocks flew into the air as the bird seemingly melted down, before lava poured over the crater's edge, a bird-like face appearing amongst the flaming liquid.

"Look out!" Sora leapt atop a large boulder, the others following his lead. Even Kaname and the other vessels did the same.

Kaname stared down at the orange-red liquid oozing below them, contemplating whether or not to resume his attack.

"Kaname!" Jiminy called out. The man looked up, staring at the little cricket. "We don't want to fight you. We know the real you is in there. Please, tell us how to help you."

"You can't."

The voice came out quiet, barely audible over the bubbling lava.

"We can't be saved… our fate will be the same no matter the outcome."

"Hold on right there!" Jiminy, with a little help from magic, leapt across the gap and stood on Kaname's shoulder.

"Jiminy! Get back!"

The cricket stood, unafraid, on the shoulder of the vessel. "Kaname, this is the real you talking, I know it. You may not be in full control, but the real you has reach. You still hold your wife's hand, you try and protect Kairi. If this is true, then there has to be a way to save you. Don't give up."

"I didn't expect to hear such wise counsel from a cricket…" Kaname laughed, but suddenly stiffened as his eyes flashed. Jiminy quickly turned and leapt back to Sora before Kaname could attack him.

"Good job, Jiminy!"

"Thanks, Sora. I did what I could, but Xehanort still has control of him."

"You did your best."

Nearby, Young Xehanort stood on a rock, above the others, looking down on them. His outstretched hand pulsed with darkness. "Meddlesome insect. I fear Kaname and Rimi must leave now or we risk losing them." He opened two corridors; Kaname leapt in one and Rimi in the other. Vanitas followed soon after.

"Sora!" Mickey called. "The bird is attacking the village. We have to get down there!"

The boy grinned. "I've got this!" He held out his Keyblade. "Hydro!" The water spell burst into life, cascading down the mountain. As it touched the lava, steam filled the air and the lava hardened to rock. "It's too hot to walk on, so we've gotta be fast!" The boy jumped into the air and cast Blizzardza across the new ground, creating a slick path of ice. He landed on it, following the spell close behind as the ice quickly melted behind him(3).

The others followed his example, hoping they could make it in time.

* * *

In the village, Spring did her best to calm the villagers as the Keybearers waited, facing the mountain.

"D-do you think we can defeat Kaschi?" Naminé tightened her grip on Embrace of Destiny as they waited.

"We have to try."

Suddenly, the ground shook and everyone saw a bird, glowing with orange and black liquid rock, rise up from the mountain. "WHAT THE HECK!?" The creature melted down into lava and cascaded down the mountain towards them.

"What do we do!?" Roxas looked around, hoping to see some of the others returning to assist, but no one came.

Ven summoned his Keyblade. "We have to fight! It's made of fire, right. Cast as many Quake spells as you can to create a rock barrier between it and the village. Then we use Aero, Blizzard, and Hydro. That's all we can do."

"Right!"

Xion and Roxas ran forward, casting Quake multiple times, causing rocks to jut up between the lava and the village. Just as they backed off the lava dashed against the barrier and came to a still, for a moment. The lava spread, flowing out around the village, but into the forest, burning the trees.

"We need to s-"

From behind the barrier, the giant bird of lava rose up, towering over the village. "Look!" Roxas yelled, pointing to the Heartless insignia on its beak. "A Heartless!"

"It must be Kaschi! He must have become a Heartless!" Spring hovered over them. "Perhaps I can…" She looked up and saw the molten eyes of the Firebird Heartless staring down at her. For a moment, everything seemed to go still.

Then it pounced. The Heartless opened its mouth and, before anyone could stop it, it swallowed the nature spirit(4).

"SPRING!"

* * *

The fighting stopped as the mountain exploded in fire. "Well, looks like they did their job," Braig smirked. "This world is gonna burn!"

"Not if we can help it."

Aqua clashed with the hooded figure, who never drew a weapon, but just kept creating chains of darkness to counter her spells and attacks. Something about him. It seemed so familiar.

The air around them began heating up and they could see lava oozing through the trees towards them, slowly(5).

"I think we're fighting on borrowed time!" Lea glanced back at the liquid fire.

"Then let's finish this!" Aqua began to glow a soft pink color and her Keyblade levitated slightly about her hand(6). She began attacking her opponent as the others strengthened their attacks against it as well. The more she attacked, the more she glowed until she felt the power reach its limit within her. Stopping her attacks, she began to spin around, swirling magic about her.

Her mysterious opponent could not escape the attack and took the full brunt until the final blow, which knocked him across the battlefield.

And knocked off his hood.

"N-No!" Aqua's Keyblade fell from her hands as the figure rose to his feet. He stared at her with blank, golden eyes under a mat of black hair pulled back into a ponytail. A scar ran across his face, over his right eye, and down his left cheek.

Braig laughed at Aqua's stunned face. "I don't know about you, but darkness works for the old bat. Don't you think?"

"M-Master Eraqus…? Master…?"

Kairi gasped. Aqua's master? Her fist clenched her Keyblade. "You freaks! You take my parents, Yamato, and now Aqua and Ven's master! How low can you be!?"

"Oh, Princess. Our low-down dirty tricks haven't even started." They met eyes. Braig's glittered with a hidden mirth over a secret that only he knew. "And we will make you suffer. All of you. In ways you could never imagine. And nothing can stop us. You think you're so strong with your Keyblade and your Aeris? You're nothing! We will break you… all of you. If the lava doesn't melt you first." He laughed. "I think it's time to go!"

They vanished into the darkness just as the lava broke through the trees into Oskolok Olenya.

"Aqua!" Riku grabbed her arm. "We need to go!"

The girl continued to stare at the spot where her master vanished from. "Y-yes, you're right…" As they fled, trying to move back towards the village while avoiding the lava, Aqua kept her eyes fixed on the ground, tears streaming down her face, only to fall to the ground and evaporate in the heat of the liquid rock around them.

* * *

"Aeroza!" Ven attempted to cool down the Firebird Heartless with his magic. If only they could harden the lava back to rock. Parts of the Heartless did solidify with every attack, but not enough.

This attack struck it right in the center of the chest, but instead of turning it to rock like all the other attacks did, this one pushed back the lava. Inside, Ven saw a beautiful bird wrapped in darkness.

"The firebird." He looked at the others. "The real firebird is inside it and alive! We need to harden this thing as much as we can and get it out!"

"On it!"

Roxas stepped back. "I'll keep protecting the village!" The Heartless launched a burst of fire at a group of houses, only for Roxas to cast Refleza over them. The attack sent back did nothing more but blow back the Firebird Heartless, but it staggered it enough for Naminé and Xion to cast Hydro on each wing. Steam rose as part of the wings dipped down, heavy with the solid rock.

"Keep it up!"

The Firebird Heartless screeched with fury as it felt its body become more and more solid every moment. Ven transformed his Keyblade into a glider and activated his armor. "Nami! I need you to use Aeroza to clear a path for me to get to the firebird."

"Gotcha! Be careful!"

Ven swung around on his glider until he came level with where he saw the trapped bird. "NOW!" He charged forward as the girl launched the wind spell. It hit the Heartless, blowing open its chest. Ven flew in, wrapping his arms around the firebird, pulling it from its dark prison as the lava closed around him.

"VEN!"

The Firebird Heartless screeched, writhing in pain as its body suddenly began turning to rock. Behind the Heartless, Sora and the others arrived, just in time to see Ven, armor steaming with heat, come bursting out the back of the rock. His glider disappeared as he rolled across the ground, dismissing his armor with a yelp. "Hot! Hot! Ok, never doing that again!"

The Heartless rose into the air. It's battery of power gone, rock and ash flaked off it, as its life began to fall away.

Everyone came to see, coming out from their houses, even Riku and the others arrived in time to see it give a final screech and then vanish into a cloud of darkness. However, no heart appeared.

"That didn't look right…" Sora mused. "Kinda reminds me of that one Dream Eater who kept vanishing and then came back later on(7)."

They went back to the village, Ven clutching the glowing creature in his arms.

All gathered around as he sat on a crate, loosening his grip on the real firebird.

She was a beautiful bird. She looked to be about the size of a cat in body, her long neck craned to look around at the people around her. Her feathers, glowing yellows and oranges, ruffled slightly. Her tail feathers hung down almost to the ground, long, beautiful, and these matched the feather that kept the village lit up(8).

The firebird opened her beak and let out a long, beautiful, melodious song, joyful, yet tired at the same time, before laying its head down on Ven's lap to rest, exhausted from having its energy used to power the large Heartless.

* * *

"Spring is dead…?"

"That big Heartless ate her," Ven sighed, "and trust me, it was hot enough in there to kill anything. My armor kept me alive, and I still got burned because it got too hot inside the armor."

Aqua sighed, glancing over at the firebird, who lay amongst a bed of soft cloth the villagers made for her. The people now walked around, looking at the charred remains of the forest. "So much pain… Ven, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I know who Xehanort's final vessel is…" she wiped a tear from her eye. "I-it's Master Eraqus."

The boy froze, mouth open in an expression of utter shock. "What!?"

The others around them paused, listening to the two as Aqua continued. "I fought him and I saw his face… it was him."

"The master…"

Sora clenched his fists. "First it was Kaname, Rimi, and Yamato; now he's taken their master too." He could only watch as the two hugged one another, tears spilling over for their master.

"The stag!" Albert cried out, pointing as the stag came back into the village, its fur covered in gray ash and dried blood.

He walked over to the firebird, touching his nose to her beak before walking to the side of the village that faced the mountain. The villagers dropped everything to follow him. He crossed over the rock barrier Ven and the others made and came to where the line of trees once stood; only ash remained now.

The stag bent his head down and breathed into the ash. The gray dust swirled before settling into a small figure.

"Spring!"

The little sprite looked up, gray ash flaking off her, as she looked around at the burned forest. Her head lowered at all the destruction she saw.

"Spring?" Xion walked over, picking up the tiny sprite in her hands. "I'm sorry about the forest, but look. The village is alright, and everyone is alive, and we rescued the firebird." She looked down at the nature spirit as she felt liquid drip onto her hand. "Spring, please don't cry…"

Spring allowed her tears to flow freely; the dark green liquid falling onto Xion's hand and running off onto the ground. When the tear splashed on the ground, the dirt became moist and from it sprang a small green plant.

"Look!"

The spirit looked down, gaping at what she'd done with just her tears. A smile came over her face as she spread out her wings and took to the sky. Everyone watched as she flew higher and higher, growing larger every second, her body changing from gray, to green, to a dark blue. From her, rain began to fall. Everyone began to laugh, and even the firebird, who glowed a little brighter to protect herself from the water, looked up and chirped happily.

The rain fell and Spring began flying around, just as she had the day before when they first saw her. Trees, grass, flowers, all plants sprang up as she flew by. She even went around the mountain, covering it in soft grass until everything gleamed with color and life once again.

The villagers cheered as the sprite landed on the ground in front of them. "Thank you, wielders of the Keyblade! You were wonderful!"

"You're welcome!"

The villagers parted as the firebird approached, coming near to Spring, who smiled. "And you. I can finally undo what Kaschi did to you."

"You can change her back to human?"

"I can, but I could not undo the petrification spell over her and Kaschi, and I, like Kaschi's apprentice, could not risk freeing the sorcerer. But now, I can help her." She knelt down, touching the bird's head. Green magic began to cover the bird, swirling around her.

The sprite stepped back as the magic engulfed the firebird, growing to the size of a human, and a tall one at that. And then it faded.

In place of the bird stood a girl, about the same age as Aqua, possibly a little older. Her gray eyes shone with joy and her blue hair, which faded into white, bounced as she looked around. Her yellow dress, bright against her tanned skin, swished as she tested out walking on human legs once again.

"I-I'm back!?"

"Wow…"

The girl smiled as she looked at everyone. "Finally!" Her eyes turned to the Keyblade wielders. "Thank you for rescuing me! And Spring, thank you for healing me."

"You're welcome." The sprite laughed as she flew around the girl. "Everyone, meet Maryushaka(9). Oh, I wish our mutual friend was here to see this! He's waited so long and tried so hard to find a way to save you…"

Maryushaka clasped her hands. "I'm sure he'll be happy to hear I'm alright."

"Um, Maryu- Mary," Ven held up a hand, "it's been over 4000 years. I hate to tell you, but your friend…"

"Four thousand years…" The girl gasped.

"Do not worry," Spring smiled. "Your friend still lives. He, like his master, used magic so much and so strongly, that it absorbed into their body, keeping them alive. You should go see him! He will be so happy!"

Sora cocked his head. "Spring, this friend, isn't it Kaschi's apprentice?" The sprite nodded. "Thought so… if he's alive, is he on this world."

"No, he left long ago."

Mickey smiled. "Then maybe we can find him. What's his name?"

Maryushaka and Spring looked at one another. "His name is Yen Sid."

…

"WHAT!?"

* * *

The Firebird Heartless exited the dark realm, the orders in its nearly empty mind, driving it on. It looked around its dark surroundings.

Night… it was night with stars shining overhead.

Where was it? Walls on all sides. Wait? Warmth? Warmth beneath its feet?

The orders came again, stronger this time.

The Heartless dug its talons into the rock beneath it, channeling all its remaining strength into the heat below it and into keeping itself alive.

And there, it waited.

* * *

"I really hate you three." Vanitas shoved Rimi into the cell before slamming the door. Xehanort's full control slipping away partially. Kaname caught her. "You're nothing but puppets, and yet you still cause us problems."

The three from Radiant Garden spent most of their time in a cell, as their wills were too strong for Xehanort to keep constant control over them.

"Look who's calling the kettle black."

"Excuse me?" Vanitas turned around at the comment from Yamato.

The man stroked his scruffy beard. "You call us puppets, but you're no better. You follow Xehanort around like a lost puppy, doing everything he asks. Actually, you're worse than a puppet, you're a dog. Xehanort can tell you to do anything and you'll do it."

"Why you!?" The boy warped into the cell, his hand pulsing with darkness as he approached the older man. "I am no-" He gasped as Kaname grabbed him in a choke-hold from behind.

Kaname held on as Vanitas squirmed. He waited until the boy fell still before dropping him. "He'll live." He grabbed Dawn's Might from Vanitas. "Now…" With a swing from the sword, the cell bars fell apart.

He, Yamato, and Rimi jumped from the cell and the auburn-haired man ran to a cell further down. Inside the cell came a young voice. "Dad?"

"Hang on, son!" Kaname sliced the bars apart and a boy ran to him, wrapping his arms around Kaname. "It's alright…"

"Dad, are we…?"

"You are," Rimi came over, hugging the boy and kissing his forehead. "We aren't escaping, but we can buy you time to."

"But I don't want to leave you!"

"You have to. If we all escape we'll be easier to catch. We can keep them occupied, but you have to leave." Kaname knelt down, placing his hand on the boy's head. "Get a disguise, and find your sister." He hugged the boy. "Son, we love you."

"I love you too." The boy sobbed as Rimi joined the hug.

The parents pulled back. "Now go, hurry!" They watched as a dark corridor opened and the boy ran in.

"Let's go." Yamato held out a hand, concentrating until a corridor of his own blossomed from the floor. "We need to get as far away from him as we can."

"I know…"

Xehanort appeared in the prison just in time to see Kaname, the last of the three to go, vanish into the corridor. The old man narrowed his eyes. "Bring them back! Now!"

* * *

 **Well, that was a plot twist… or three. ;P  
Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Pronounced os-cole-oak oh-leen-ya

(2) I'm a deer hunter and when hunting we always aim right behind the shoulder. It's where the heart, lungs, and spine are all right near one another. So, if the shot is too far back, it misses most of the vital organs.

(3) Aqua does this with her Blizzard spell in 2.8.

(4)Just like in the Fantasia segment.

(5) This is kinda a combination of reality and the Fantasia segment. Lava actually moves very slowly and is not the main cause of destruction in most volcanic instances, but in the segment, it moved very fast at the behest of the Firebird, so the lava in this fic, once it stems off from the bird, begins to slow and move at a more realistic speed.

(6) Spell Weaver command style.

(7) You know, the annoying one you met in Traverse Town and finally beat in Symphony of Sorcery in DDD.

(8) Her appearance is based on the Superb Lyrebird, and Australian songbird with long tail feathers.

(9) In one of the old Firebird myths, Kaschei did turn an orphan girl named Maryushaka into a firebird for refusing to embroider for him alone. When he carried her away, she shed a single feather as a goodbye to her village before dying.

* * *

 _VAs:_

 _Maryushka- Erica Luttrell (Emily Kaldwin, Cheetah, Princess Candy, Sapphire)_

 _Yamato Kazekiri- David Lodge (Jiraiya, Tharok, Kenpachi Zaraki, Igor, Toothpick)_

* * *

 **What is Love?**

What is love?

What does it mean to love?

Love is a word we like to use a lot today. We have people in love. Love your neighbor. Love your enemies. You love your family and friends. The power of true love. But what does love really mean?

If we love someone, do we have to agree with everything they do or say? If we love someone, do we just let them do things that can hurt them without saying anything? What should we do when we love someone?

A lot of times, we hear verses about love at weddings, but these verses can be applied to anyone at any time, not just for love between spouses, but between friends and neighbors.

John 15:13 says, " _Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends._ "

Romans 13:9-10 says, " _For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law._ "

But love is something we all need, without love, we're just a bunch of grumpy people who hate everything, and I don't think most of us want to be that kind of person. So, this is what love is, this is what we should be like when we show love:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8, " _Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away._ "

This is what love is.


	33. Chapter 33: Magical Mystery

**Guys!**

 **I love this chapter!**

 **Though, prepare for some jumping around near the end. Things are starting to heat up as we near the end of the story!**

 **And this chapter title is a reference to my favorite song on Project Destati's newest album: Darkness.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Yamato © to Yamichaos27!**

 **Other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 33: Magical Mystery**

* * *

For the last fourteen hours everyone sat in the gummi ship in relative silence. Maryushaka stood by a large window, staring out at the stars as they rushed past. Jiminy sat on her shoulder, notebook in hand. Ever since they left Les Tayny, he'd done nothing but ask questions, and the girl did her best to answer them all.

Everyone else could do nothing but think on what happened fourteen hours ago.

* * *

 **(14 hours prior)**

"WHAT!?"

Mary cocked her head slightly. "What is it?" Her eyes widened. "Wait! Do you know him?"

"Uh, yeah!"

"He is my master; he trained me." Mickey piped up. "Master Yen Sid is a powerful sorcerer and former Keyblade Master."

The blue-haired girl looked at Spring. "Wow, our old friend sure has made his way in the world, but how is he still alive after 4000 years?"

"That you will have to ask him yourself."

"Please," the girl clasped her hands, looking at the group, "take me to him! Please…"

* * *

"We're here, guys." Riku slipped out of the cockpit chair and opened the door to the outside.

Mary stepped out first, looking up at the tall tower that stood on the small piece of land. "He lives… here?"

"That's right, Mary," Lea smirked. "The old man's humble abode. Come on, let's go see him."

The group climbed the long set of stairs up to Yen Sid's study, their newest companion hanging back; after all her excitement, seeing her old friend for the first time in so long made her nervous.

Mickey opened the door to the study and stepped in. "Master Yen Sid."

The old man stood near a window; the three fairies, Fauna, Flora, and Merryweather, stood nearby, as did a strange girl with long blonde hair. The wizard turned, looking at the king and the others as they came in, all but Mary, who hung back and out of sight. "Ah Mickey, I did not expect to see you and the others today."

"Master," the mouse began, "we have just returned from a world called Les Tayny…" The old man seemed to stiffen slightly at the name of his home. "We know that was your homeworld."

Yen Sid let out a sigh and looked back out at the stars. "Yes, it is. I have not been there in a long time."

"Xehanort sent some of his goons there." Sora piped up. "They turned your old master, Kaschi into a Heartless." This caught the wizard's attention. "We were able to beat him, but the Heartless got away. Everyone is alright, and we managed to find and help an old friend of yours."

The group parted, revealing the young girl who stood on the stairs. They two made eye contact, and after a moment, Yen Sid spoke. "Is that… Maryushaka?"

"Hello, old friend." Mary timidly stepped forward.

Striding towards her, the old man stared at the girl, almost in disbelief. "You have been freed, from Kaschi and your form as a firebird…"

"Thanks to them and Spring." The girl smiled, looking up at him. "For being over 4000 years old, you look pretty good."

"And you have aged somewhat yourself. Last I saw you, you were twelve." He took her hands. "Ah, it seems you are like me now… unable to age."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "So that's why you've lived so long…"

"Yes, it is." The mysterious blonde girl walked over, her dress swirling around her bare feet. "There are many ways of prolonging one's life, so that one may appear to be immortal. Though, it is strange to find so many people like that in one room." She began counting, pointing at Yen Sid first, then the three fairies, then Mary, and finally herself. "That makes six of us here."

"Whoa!" Ven gaped.

"I don't understand," Mary said quietly. "I can't age?"

Flora flew over to the girl. "It's alright, it happens sometimes. When someone is exposed to powerful magic for long enough, the magic absorbs into their bodies, making them stop aging, but that does not mean we are immortal. I and my fellow fairies are like this, as are you and Master Yen Sid.(1)"

"Yes," Flora nodded, "one day, our bodies will absorb too much magic and become exhausted. So, we do not die of age, but of magical exhaustion."

Sora and the others stared, in awe of what they were hearing. "That's really cool!"

"I'd ask how old they are, but that would be rude…" Lea muttered under his breath.

Finally, Yen Sid spoke again. "Mary, it appears all your time as a firebird and in proximity to my old master has made you like this. You have powerful magic inside you now." He closed his eyes and suddenly, Mary began to glow a deep vermillion(2) color.

"Whoa!"

"You have the potential to become a powerful wizard, like Master Yen Sid," the blonde girl giggled. "You just need to learn how to use your magic."

Yen Sid opened his eyes again, looking at his old friend. "If you would like, you may remain here, and I will teach you."

"I'd love that!" The girl smiled. The old wizard allowed a smile to cross his own face as he looked at his old friend. So much time to catch up… and to relive old memories…

* * *

 _Yen Sid, age 13, walked down the street of his village, looking through the latest spellbook his master had given him. His inky black hair(3) hung down over his face._

" _If you keep walking like that, you'll run into someone, Yenny."_

 _The boy looked up and saw a girl sitting on a barrel, needle and thread in hand. She giggled, before brushing a strand of her platinum blonde hair(4) over her shoulder. The boy closed the book and laughed. "Thanks, Mary, guess I was a little too engrossed in my book."_

" _What's the book about?"_

" _Master Kaschi gave it to me." Yen Sid walked over, showing the ancient text to her. "It's an old spellbook that is supposed to be very difficult, but this first spell I might be able to figure out. It's a petrification spell."_

 _The girl smiled. "Looks complicated, but I'm sure you can figure it out. You're the smartest boy in the village."_

" _Thanks, Mary."_

 _The boy spent the entire night learning the petrification spell, as well as a few others that he could not wait to test out. That morning, he sat down with his mother and father, Florina and Ilia, and brother, Rosu(5). They talked about all of their lives and goings-on, but Yen Sid couldn't really care. He stuffed down his food and ran up to the mountain, eager to show his master what he'd learned._

 _As he entered the cauldron of the mountain, he felt the invisible shield part for his entry. His master stood by some bookshelves. "Master Kaschi! I figured out some of the spells!"_

" _Wonderful, boy." The man did not turn to look at him. "Come, look at this specimen." Yen Sid walked over and saw a small cage, and inside a beautiful bird with feathers of fire. "This, my boy, is a firebird. Most will never see one in their lifetime, and we have one here to study and document."_

" _Amazing!"_

 _Kaschi strode over to a coat rack and threw on his black cloak(6). "Now, I hate to go, but your father needed me for some business. Something about Baba Yaga(7) attacking homes. You will have to show me the spells late."_

" _Yes, Master." The man left, leaving the boy alone with the bird. "You're so pretty… but you look sad." He looked down at the book in his arms. "Last night I learned a spell that would let me understand animals, but I haven't tested it. Maybe I can find out why you are so sad!"_

 _Yen Sid opened the book and read the incantation. A moment later he turned back to the firebird, waiting expectantly. The animal looked up at him and let out a beautiful cry. At first, it sounded like just an animal sound, but the words soon appeared in his mind. "_ _Yenny! Yenny! Help me!_ "

" _What!?" Yen Sid stepped back. Only one person called him 'Yenny'. "Mary…?"_

" _Yes!_ " _The bird cried. "_ _Help! Kaschi did this! I refused to work for him and he turned me into a bird! Please, you have to help me!_ "

" _I don't know how. There are too many spellbooks to look through… I doubt I could find the reversal spell before he gets back."_

" _Please… do something. I-I'm scared…_ "

" _I-I'll think of something!" He tried to open the cage, but magic sealed the door shut. For hours, he looked around the library, searching for something… some way to fix his friend._

" _Yen sid?" Kaschi came walking towards him. "What is it?" His eyes looked around at the books covering the floor._

 _The boy glanced at the firebird before turning on his master. "How could you!? You turned Mary into a firebird!"_

" _How do you-?"_

" _The spellbook! I learned the spell for speaking to animals! Turn her back now!"_

 _The sorcerer's eyes narrowed on his student. "She needed to learn some respect for her betters. As do you it seems."_

" _Yen! Look out!_ "

 _The boy moved just before a bolt of lightning struck the ground right where he'd been standing. He fired a blast of fire at his teacher out of instinct. Kaschi knocked it away with one hand. "You would dare attack me! Fine!" His body began to glow a deep black as his features changed; his feet became talons as feathers covered his body and a beak thrust from his face._

" _What do I do…?" Yen Sid's eyes glanced to the book he'd spent so long reading the night before. "That's it!"_

 _His teacher, now a giant raven swooped down on the boy. Yen Sid rolled out of the way before holding out his hands. A stream of gray and brown magic shot out, enveloping his teacher and most of the room. The bookshelves and everything around him began turning to stone._

 _Kaschi cried out as the spell began covering him. His black eyes glanced around as his croaking voice rang out. "I will win still!" A talon reached out, crushing the firebird's cage and grabbing the animal in its grip as the spell took effect._

" _MARY!"_

" _Yen! Help m-._ "

 _Silence. Yen Sid stood in a cauldron of stone, himself being the only thing not made of stone now. "Mary… I-I failed…"_

 _Weeks later, the boy sat in his master's old study, with every book turned to stone. He couldn't find a way to undo the spell now, and he would not risk freeing his master._

" _Excuse me?" He looked up to see a woman in a strange short dress. Her short black hair bounced around her head, framing the wolf mask which covered the top of her face; a white wolf tail swished behind her. She removed the mask revealing herself to be in her late twenties, if not a little older, with bright yellow eyes. "I am looking for the one the villagers call the 'Great Uchenik Kolduna'."_

" _That's me." Yen Sid sighed, "But I'm not great… I got lucky and then screwed up. They don't get it."_

 _The woman sat beside him. "Tell me." The boy told her the entire story. "I see. Well, would you like the chance to find a way to free your friend?"_

" _Yes! More than anything!"_

 _She stood up and held out her hand. A sword that looked vaguely like a key appeared. "I have not found one with a heart as strong as yours in a long time." Her yellow eyes met his. "My name is Keyblade Master Due Jager. Would you like to be my apprentice…?"_

* * *

Mary laughed as she looked up at the old man. "I guess I can't call you Yenny like I used to."

"Yenny!?" Lea coughed, nearly laughing.

"If you wish," the old wizard ignored Lea's outburst, "you may just call me Yen Sid."

She smiled. "How about we compromise with Yen."

"Alright."

Yen Sid smiled and looked to the fairies. "Ladies, would you mind showing Mary to one of the empty rooms?"

"Of course not." Flora and the others flew over, ushering the girl into another room. The girl had moments to wave goodbye to the others before she disappeared with the fairies.

Yen Sid sighed before turning to the group. "Thank you for helping her and for bringing her here."

"It was no trouble." Sora grinned, putting his hands behind his head.

The mysterious blonde girl giggled. "Well, I better be off, I get the feeling you all need to talk a little. I will return later and we can finish our conversation, Master Yen Sid."

"Very well, Mavis(8)." The girl vanished in a flash of light. The old man noticed the confusion in the eyes of the others. "She is a wizard from another world, who like me, cannot age, but her condition is due to a curse. She wished to know if I was aware of a cure, but I could not help her."

"Oh…"

The wizard sat down, eyeing the group. "Who are the three new ones with you?" Roxas, Xion, and Naminé squirmed under his gaze.

"Master, this is Roxas, Xion, and Naminé," Sora spoke calmly. "Roxas used to be my Nobody, and Naminé was Kairi's. Xion was a replica made to copy my powers. Ansem managed to bring them back."

"I see." Yen Sid's eyes softened, making the three smile before he glanced around the group. "And, what else has happened?"

Aqua timidly stepped forward. "Master, four of Xehanort's vessels… Two of them are Kairi's birth parents, one is a close friend of Ansem the Wise, and the fourth… is Master Eraqus."

"What?" The wizard's breath caught, surprised.

"He chose them for one purpose, to hurt us." Lea huffed, "But Kairi almost freed them."

Kairi gasped. "Oh! Master, can you tell me what the Aeris is?"

"The Aeris!?" He stood up. "How do you know about that?"

"That's what Xemnas called it. I've been doing something where I grow wings and start glowing. What is it?"

The old man sighed. "Have you grown that strong already?" He strode across the room and picked up an old book. "Tell me, what makes up light?"

"Well, seven colors." Riku crossed his arms. "That's why rainbows are seven colors."

"Indeed, and light, like what Kairi has within her, is made up of seven pieces as well. Each Princess of Heart embodies an aspect of light." He set the book down and it began to glow. As he spoke pieces that formed the shape of a heart floated upwards, each a different color. "Hope," green. "Joy," yellow. "Peace," purple. "Innocence," blue. "Courage," orange. "Love," red. "Purity," white. "Tell me, the wings and glow, what color were they?"

"White."

The white part of the heart floated to Kairi. "Then that tells me that you embody Purity. The Aeris is the extension of your light made into pure combat energy. It can only happen under certain circumstances, and it is very rare. The princess in question must be in combat, they must be feeling strong emotional pain, and they must be proficient in magic."

Kairi looked down at the white piece. "That… makes sense. Every time has been a moment of anger or hurt."

"It uses your light in its purest form; Lea said you nearly freed your parents from Xehanort like that… only the Aeris' power could do that."

"Can I use it on command?" Kairi's eyes shone. Hope. Hope for her parents.

Yen Sid shook his head. "No, but it can be forced. If you are in combat and you can force some sort of emotional pain upon yourself, it _might_ activate."

Kairi sighed. "Thank you, Master." Her eyes looked up at the other pieces of the heart. "Do you know which princesses embody which pieces?"

"No, but from what I know of them, I have some guesses, though that does not matter." Yen Sid stood up. "You need to continue on as soon as possible. Xehanort will not wait. You may rest here for the night if you wish."

Mickey shook his head. "We better go now… thank you, Master."

* * *

The boy looked around Twilight Town, seeing if anyone noticed him. He slipped into an old warehouse and changed into the black jacket, gloves, green pants, and blue sneakers. He could only think about his parents and Yamato.

They helped him escape.

But were they alright?

What would Xehanort do to them?

Shaking her head, he pushed the thoughts from his mind. He had to focus on hiding. The boy reached into the bag and pulled out the bottle of hair dye.

"Let's get this over with…"

* * *

Kaname, Rimi, and Yamato exited the portal into a snowy wood outside a castle wall. "Kaname, what are we going to do?"

"We need to keep them off our son's tail." The former captain sighed.

"So we split up." His mentor nodded. "Keep their attention on us as long as we can."

Kaname nodded. "I'll stay here to give you two some time to get away. It'll also give me some time to try and help Sora." He sat down on a log. "We may not know all of Xehanort's plan, but we know where he's going next. I can give them a heads up."

"Alright… just be careful." Rimi knelt down and shared a kiss with her husband.

"You too." Yamato opened two corridors, and he and Rimi vanished into them, leaving Kaname alone in the dark.

The captain closed his eyes, focusing on the world around him. He could sense a light, pure like his daughter's in the castle nearby, making him smile at the thought of his little girl. He focused more, reaching out with his mind and heart until.

"There!"

* * *

The group slept on the gummi ship as it slowly floated through space. No one knew where to go, so they set a course to Radiant Garden.

Naminé lay asleep until a voice cut into her dreams. " _Naminé? Naminé?_ "

She sat up, blinking, but could still hear the voice calling to her. She closed her eyes. " _Hello?_ "

" _Naminé?! It's me, Kaname! Listen, I don't have much time. I know where Xehanort is going next! He is preparing to invade three different worlds, what these worlds are, I don't know, but he is gathering three strong Heartless to do so. The Firebird was the first, and I know where he plans to get the next two. Listen carefully…_ "

The girl sat, listening until the man's voice faded, and she heard no more. "Thank you, Kaname." She jumped up, running to the cockpit.

Goofy sat up front, watching for attacking Heartless; he jumped as she ran in and took the controls. "Naminé?"

"I know where we need to go!" She cut off autopilot and turned the ship away from Radiant Garden, firing the engines to go as fast as they could.

There was no time to lose.

* * *

 **Oh my gosh. We're nearing the end of the story…**

 **So, here's the explanation of the Aeris as well as some background on Yen Sid!**

 **I added in the Mavis reference since Fairy Tail was going to be the next world, but I cut it out.**

 **Please Review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This is my explanation as to why Yen Sid, the fairies, and Merlin have lived so long and never seemed to age.

(2) Reference to her future title as "the Vermillion Sorceress".

(3) Reference to another game that Yen Sid is in, that has something to do with ink. ;)

(4) Being a firebird, changed her hair to blue, like the blue flames.

(5) These are names related to Flora, Elias, and Roy… figured it out yet?

(6) Kinda basing his appearance off the ballet version of him, but without the elderly or skeleton features.

(7) She was a witch that flew on a pestle and kidnapped naughty children and ate them in Slavic myth.

(8) Fairy Tail anyone!? Fairy Tail © to Hiro Mashima!

* * *

 _VAs:_

 _Young Yen Sid- Matt Czuchry (Brainiac 5, Logan Huntzberger, Cary Agos, Chris Kennedy)_

 _Kaschi- Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor, Mr. Krabs, Hank Anderson, Silas, Savage Opress)_

 _Due Jager- Dana Delany (Lois Lane, Loana, Andrea Beaumont, Vilsi Vaylar)_

* * *

 **Judge or Judge Not?**

We have one of the most quoted passages in the bible sitting as the most misquoted passages as well. We hear "don't judge" thrown around all the time. But when one looks at the entire passage, there is a lot more to this and the "don't judge" line makes a little more sense.

Matthew 7:1-6, " _Judge not, that you be not judged._ _ **2**_ _For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you._ _ **3**_ _Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?_ _ **4**_ _Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?_ _ **5**_ _You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye._

 _ **6**_ " _Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you._ "

Let's start with the middle of this passage, with the part that talks about the speck in your brother's eye and the log in your own. This here is telling you to make a judgment, about yourself, look at yourself and see what you need to improve on, or what you need to let God improve in you. If you are doing something wrong, screaming at someone else to stop doing that same thing isn't going to do anything but tick them off and make you look stupid and rude.

Then if we jump up to what judgment you use will be used to you, that is pretty self-explanatory. If you go around pointing fingers, and chewing people out about every little thing, people will do the same to you, probably about your pointing fingers. Here's the thing, instead of yelling at random people, which isn't going to help a thing, build a relationship with them. Love them, then you can say 'hey, this probably isn't the best thing for you to be doing'. That way they know you and understand that your concern comes out of a place of love and not judgment. Even Jesus did this. He ate supper with the tax collectors and sinners; he spent time with them and loved them.

Now, as for that last verse about dogs and pigs, basically, that means don't waste your time arguing with someone who isn't going to listen at all. If you are trying to tell someone that they are in the wrong and they don't care, they won't listen to you. Don't waste their time and yours arguing with them!

Build that relationship first, and then tell them in a loving way and out of love. Don't bash it over their heads. Do it in love. Let them speak into your life and be able to correct you when you need it so then you can speak into their lives as well.


	34. Chapter 34: Tech Town- Dip

**Ladies and gentlemen, this is going to be awesome!**

 **I'm adding in some lore and story that was originally talked about earlier in this story but would be built more in the epilogues.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this!**

 **BTW, since worlds have background music and battle music, I've picked some** **music from the game _NieR: Automata_! The background music would be "City Ruins- Rays of Light" and the battle music would be "Emil-Despair".**

 **Kingdom Hearts Disney and Square Enix!**

 **NieR: Automata to Square Enix!**

 **Luna, Selene, and Cyprus to Nintendoman01!**

 **Other OCs to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 34: Tech Town- Dip**

* * *

Sasuke(1) walked through the streets. He had a day off today and he decided to check out his old home district. He had been through here on his patrol shifts, but hadn't really taken the opportunity to bask in nostalgia. Walking through here now brought back some old memories, particularly of his mother.

And speaking of his mother, he found himself in front of Hinata's Garden, his mother's flowershop, and their old home. It was pretty well fixed up, looking like it had before it was destroyed by the heartless. He grimaced at the memory of finding his mother in the wreckage with a slab of wood sticking out of her chest.

Shaking that memory out of his head, he took a deep breath as he approached the shop's entrance. When he entered the door he was greeted by the sight of a young woman with brunette hair and wore a pink bow on her head waiting at the register.

"Oh! Good afternoon, Sir Sasuke!" the woman said. "I was wondering when you were gonna stop by."

Sasuke smiled. "Hey, Aerith. I see you're taking care of my mother's old shop."

Aerith smiled back. "Of course! Momo was so good to me and my mother. And I really loved helping around the shop. Taking over for her was the least I could do."

The captain chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure my mother will rest well knowing this place is in good hands."

The new owner of the store then looked concerned. "Um, I heard about what happened the other day. What Xehanort did to… the formers captains and the princess. Have you been… doing alright?"

Sasuke sighed. "It hasn't been easy. Just the thought of my own master and even my own father being puppets to that conniving son of a gun is unsettling. I've never even met Yamato before, and now odds are the only memory I ever WILL have of him is fighting against him, maybe even sending him back to death."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. I'm doing all I can to prepare for the worst case scenario."

"How's Kairi handling this? Her parents I mean."

"She's been contacting us pretty often recently. She tries to avoid the subject of her parents' current situation, but I can tell it's bothering her more than she lets on. I just hope the others are helping her through it, especially Sora."

Aerith then put her hand over her heart. "Listen, I know we weren't exactly close friends back in the day but if there's anything I can do… I made a memorial for Momo in the garden out back, if you wanna visit it."

"That would be nice, thanks." The guard then look around the shop at all the flowers. "Mind if I give her one of these flowers?"

Aerith giggled. "Knock yourself out."

Sasuke looked until he spotted a particular species. "How about this one?"

Aerith looked at the flowers he was eyeing. "The gladiolus(2)?"

"Yes." Sasuke picked one out. "I wanna give her a flower that reminds her of me and my father."

"I see." Aerith saw the guard reach into his pocket and waved her hand. "No need for munny. This one's on the house."

"Thanks."

"Your welcome. I'll give you some time."

Sasuke nodded before he headed out into the back garden. He looked at all the flowers and vegetables. It was just as he had remembered it. He then spotted a small pile of rocks that weren't there before. The biggest one on top of the pile had a green cloth wrapped around. This cloth had a name stitched to it: Momo Kazekiri. He approached the memorial and placed the gladiolus in front of it.

"Mother. I miss you so much." He then looked at the sky. "What would you have me do about father?" He then looked back down before putting his hand over his heart in respect.

He stood there for a couple minutes before his instincts suddenly kicked in as he drew his sword and blocked a red magic arrow. This was followed by him blocking a fusillade of them from multiple directions. This went on for a while until there appeared to be a pause.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I can do this all day, Braig! Show yourself!"

A dark corridor opened, and out came the one eyed ruffian himself. "Sasuke Kazekiri. Been a while, hasn't it. You're still as hard to kill as ever, I see."

"And you're still as much a thorn in my side as your Nobody had been since the Land of Twin Moons. What do you want this time?!"

"You wouldn't happen to have seen Kaname, Rimi, and Yamato around here recently have you? Or perhaps a peculiar looking boy that doesn't really fit in? I thought they might have come here somewhere."

Sasuke couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, wondering why he'd be looking for them of all people. He was also confused as to what he meant by a peculiar looking boy. "What's the matter? Did Xehanort lose track of his own puppets?"

Braig grunted in response. "If only we were able to keep them under control twenty-four/seven. But their wills are too strong for that. We usually have to lock them up when we don't need them, but now they managed to escape along with another prisoner ours. Now we gotta chase after them and put them back in their cage. So tell me: Have you seen them around?"

"No I haven't and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you." Although it doesn't surprise Sasuke that they didn't come here. Kaname most likely would've stayed away from the most obvious place to look for them. He couldn't help but smirk. "So it's just as I thought after one of the reports Kairi gave us: Your control over them isn't perfect. So there still a chance we can save them from you."

Braig chuckled darkly. "You really think it's that simple, huh? Well hate to burst your bubble but it doesn't matter what you do! They're fates are the same! You honestly think that things could go back to the way they were? Hah! But wouldn't it be sweet?" The smirk on his face widened with each word. "Your master back to his former position and glory, and your father alive. You guys could catch up on all the games of catch you missed out on. You could tell both your master and father about all the adventures you went on since the fall of this kingdom and all about the friends you made, including that cute green-haired chick. And imagine how happy Kairi will be to have her mommy and daddy back again. If you managed to free them… maybe it could happen. Or… maybe it won't."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean…?"

"Or maybe," Braig's eye glinted mercilessly, "we took precautions."

"What kind of precautions?"

He laughed. "I'm not telling! Where's the fun in that?"

Sasuke growled as he pointed Moon Cutter at Braig. "Don't play games with me, you swine!"

"Hey! Last time I gave you too much information, Xemnas reprimanded me for talking too much!"

The captain grunted in frustration. How was he supposed to take this? Would they live or not…?

Braig smiled gleefully as he pointed his arrowgun at the seemingly distracted guard. "Perhaps you all should just allow us to keep them if you still want them to live." He then fired one of his arrows.

However, Sasuke deflected the attack without looking. He then glared at the traitor. "If you're trying to sway us from eliminating your prized assets, you're wasting your time. I'm not about to let the words of a snake stop me from doing what I must, from doing what they probably want me to do. You can babble all you want, but I'll do whatever it takes to protect not only what I hold dear, but what Kaname, Rimi, and my father held dear as well, even if I have to protect it all from them!"

Braig growled. "Always the same with you! Always about protecting others! Always about your pitiful loyalist ideals! I hate that about you most of all! I hated that about the guard, and I certainly hated that about Yamato and especially Kaname! Heck, even Sora is now getting on my nerves with all his talk about his friends being his power! People who fight for those other than themselves don't survive!"

The captain scoffed at this. "If you only value yourself for your ability to harm or take from others, than you have nothing; you ARE nothing! And because of that, you will NEVER truly be strong!"

The one eyed ruffian sighed in exasperation. "I'm wasting my time. None of them are here." He turned toward the dark corridor. "I wonder if they split up. Did even the little brat separate from them?" He walked into the portal. "It'd be kinda bold for Kaname and Rimi to actually leave their own son all alone."

Sasuke was taken aback by that last statement. "Son? Wait… WHAT!?"

But Braig was already gone, the portal closing behind him.

He slowly made his way back to the castle, his mind racing. Their son? How long had they been alive? The child had to be old enough to go off on his own… so he could be five years old, at the youngest. If they indeed have a child out there, he needed to be found as soon as possible.

"Captain?"

Dilan's voice startled him, making the captain jump. "Dilan! Don't scare me like that!"

"Captain, is something wrong?" Aeleus raised an eyebrow.

Sasuke paused for a moment before answering. "Braig was just here. I have something crucial to report. Something… unsettling. I think Lord Ansem needs to hear this too." The two nodded and followed him into the castle. "Lord Ansem!"

Ansem looked up at his captain's voice. "What is it?"

"We have a problem…"

* * *

"No way…" Ven gasped as they reached the first world told to them by Kaname.

"What is it?"

The blond boy looked at the screen again, making sure his eyes were really seeing this. "My home. Tech Town. Are you sure we're in the right place, Nami?"

"Yes, I am." She stopped the ship, giving him a soft smile. "Don't worry, Ven. I'm sure things have gotten better."

"Hope so…"

* * *

Ven looked around the woods they stood in, his hand brushing the snow-covered limbs of the fir trees. It seemed like winter had just begun. "I know this place. When I ran away from the orphanage, this is where Master Xehanort found me." The boy began to walk, the snow crunching under his feet as he retraced the steps he'd taken all those years ago.

The others followed in silence. Until they came out of the tree cover. There, they saw a city with tall buildings, more technologically advanced than most other worlds. However, in contrast, they could see horse-drawn carriages and people dressed in clothing similar to clothing found in worlds like Cinderella's, but also slightly different.

The nearest building was a fairly nice three-story building with a sign that said "Tech Town Children's Home".

"That's where I grew up." Ven slowly looked at the building. "But it was just a boy's home, and it looks so much nicer now." He saw a fence around the front and saw children playing. Despite himself, he walked over.

A woman sat on the porch with a little girl in her lap. "Whoa!" Kairi gasped. "Ven, not to sound rude, but what is she?"

"She's a Tech Elf."

The woman had long ears that stuck up above the top of her head, through the white hair atop her head, and her skin was a light blue. The child in her lap was an elf as well, with white hair and yellow skin. Among the children playing, there were about equal number human and elf children.

The elf woman looked up at them and smiled, setting the child in her lap down as she came to the fence. "Good day! May I help you?"

"No ma'am," Ven bowed his head slightly. "I was just looking. I used to live here when this place was just a boy's home. It looks a lot nicer now."

"Yes, it is. The king and queen had the old owners fired, had the place redone, and left me and my husband in charge. My name is Selene Sylvari." She smiled as the yellow elf girl grabbed her hand. "This is my daughter, Luna."

"Nice to meet you."

Everyone smiled and began to introduce themselves, but just as Ven went to say his name, a man came running up, another elf, this time with yellow skin and brown hair, dressed in a suit of armor. "Selene! Get the children inside!"

"What is it, Cyprus?"

"I'll tell you later, just get them inside." The man glanced over at the group. "What are you doing here? What do you want!?"

Sora held up his hand. "Hey, we're just passing through. Please, what's going on. We can help."

The man narrowed his eyes, giving them a hard stare. "Why?"

"We can't just stand by if something bad is happening."

"Sergeant!" A boy dressed with white hair, dressed in black, a blindfold over his face, came running up.

Cyprus turned to the boy, "What is it, 9S?"

"The commander wants to know what you know about the situation."

"Of course," the elf nodded. "According to our sources, another elf was found dead in his home, making him the fifth elf in the last week. Like the others, we found him completely drained of blood, and there was anti-elf writing on the walls near his body."

Everyone in the group shuddered hearing this. 9S merely nodded. "Thank you, Sergeant." He turned to go.

Ven ran after him. "Wait! We want to help!"

Without stopping, they boy spoke. "I am sorry, but as of two hours ago, no human or elfs is allowed to assist with the investigation, only YoRHa androids."

"We're going to help whether you want us to or not." Donald stomped his foot. 9S continued to walk, ignoring them.

They continued to follow the boy; Roxas leaned over to Lea and whispered. "So, people being drained of blood. That's not creepy at all."

"No kidding. But I think the real problem is the anti-elf stuff Cyprus mentioned. I get the feeling that this has been a problem before."

"For a long time," Ven piped up. "Humans and elves kinda get along, but when one doesn't like the other, problems arise, and people tend to get hurt. I remember hearing about it a lot as a kid. One of my foster families was an elven family. I can remember the anger people had about them taking me in; it's actually the reason they sent me back to the orphanage. People were giving them death threats."

"Wow…"

They reached a larger part of town full of tall buildings. In the center stood a group of people in all black with white hair, well all but one: a blonde woman. This woman noticed the group and approached. "I am sorry, but no humans are allowed. We do not want trouble."

"We just want to help," Sora offered.

"I understand," the woman pursed her lips at their defiance, "but as there is anti-elf issues involved, we do not want potential problems by allowing humans or elves involved, so only we YoRHa androids are allowed to investigate. Please, leave or I will have Agent 2B 'escort' you out." With that, she turned, striding away to where the other androids stood.

"This sucks," Xion crossed her arms. "We just want to help."

Mickey nodded, but let out a sigh. "I know, but they have good reasoning behind their actions. It is probably better to have neither part in question involved especially with something this delicate. Come on, let's go back to the children's home."

* * *

Outside the children's home, they saw Cyprus standing beside four people. He noticed the group and waved them over. "Everyone, these are the ones I was talking about. They want to help."

"Good!" One of two girls with red hair, this one's more wavy than the other's, grinned. "We could use as much help as we can get!"

Goofy scratched his head in confusion. "Uh, what's goin on here?"

A woman wearing a green cloak over her head smirked. "Name's Anemone. I'm the leader of a group called Oposicao(3). We're a group of androids, elves, and humans who work together to oppose the divide between our people. Cyprus tells me you're willing to assist us in finding this killer."

"That's right." Riku looked at the group. "We want to help anyone in need."

"Good. Follow me." She turned and they all followed her into the children's home. They could hear the children upstairs, playing and singing songs as they went into the basement.

"Why the secrecy?"

Cyprus opened the basement door for them. "Well, as you saw, YoRHa doesn't want some of us involved, and those here who are androids are former YoRHa agents and don't have clearance anymore. Right ladies?" The two redheaded girls and the one girl in black, with white hair, nodded. "And, like you said yourself, we can't stand by when something bad is happening."

They sat down on a few boxes down in the basement, Ven sighing as he felt a bout of nostalgia from being in the orphanage he grew up in, but his mind mulled through the information about the killer that drained the elves of blood. "I remember as a kid, when I lived here, the orphanage owners would tell us a story of the Dip and the Nosferatu to keep us in line. They said the Nosferatu were monsters that looked like men but would drink all of your blood and the Dip were their dogs who could do the same, but they only did it to children who didn't obey. I thought it was just a story to scare us into behaving, but this sounds like that thing."

"Nosferatu and Dip were real once upon a time, isn't that right, Popola?" The redhead with wavy hair looked at the redhead with straight hair.

"That's right Devola(4)." The other redhead nodded. "Long ago, they plagued this world, but the humans and elves killed most of them, same as they did with that group of elf witches, the Venefilba(5). Actually, the Venefilba and Nosferatu worked together to try and wipe out the humans and Tech Elves, only to be defeated."

"Oh, and that might not be the only problem" Naminé brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "We got word that some men are planning to take, and probably unleash a monster here. So, maybe this whole Nosferatu and Dip problem is their doing."

The white-haired girl rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter. Basically, we have either a Nosferatu on the loose or a Dip, or both; your little addition of a monster doesn't change much. We have a monster on the loose, so our problems are probably one in the same. And if that is the case, the only thing to do is have our forces stake out any house belonging to an elf. And if they are elven, they need to be ready."

"A2 is right," Anemone nodded. "I'll get the word out. The rest of you wait here until dark." She pulled her cloak close and left.

Devola and Popola stood as well. "We'll see what we can get from the YoRHa agents we know!"

Soon, only A2, Cyprus, and the group found themselves still in the basement. Ven couldn't help but look at the android. "I don't remember androids when I was a kid."

"Probably because the king didn't want you to."

"She's right," Cyprus nodded. "Before the new king came to power YoRHa was nothing more than a secret. Androids like Devola and Popola have been around for a while, but they pretended to be human. A2 here was part of a military squad, but again, the fact that they were androids was a secret. The old king began work on the newer models such as the 2B and 9S, which put A2 out of business just before the new king came to power.

Kicking her feet up onto the table, A2 huffed. "Yeah, and made our existence known. At first, people were annoyed and scared, but the king did well. He worked hard to make sure that humans, elves, and androids all treat each other equally."

"Oh."

"That's right," the yellow elf said. "My wife did mention that one of you used to life here." He sat beside Ven, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Glad you got out of here before all the drama. So, tell me about the adoption. I love those stories."

His smile fell as Ven looked down, rubbing his arm. "I was never adopted. I ran away because of the owners."

"That doesn't surprise me. When the king found out what they'd been doing, he had them arrested and then charged with gross mishandling of government funds and child abuse. They're still in prison for how they treated the kids here. Even though I'm a guard, I take time here to help the kids. It's a joy for my wife and I to care for them."

"I'm glad they're gone." Ven closed his eyes. "I'll never forget what they would say to me, and how they treated me. I had been here longer than any other kid, and so they deemed me a failure as a child. They made me sleep in the attic, where the windows had no glass. I would nearly freeze every winter."

After a long moment, the elf stood up and went upstairs. Everyone else sat in silence, having heard Ven speak. When Cyprus returned, he held some pieces of paper in his hands. "Here. When we redid this place, we found some drawings in the attic. We were shocked that a child was made to sleep in that drafty place. But, I guess these belong to you."

Ven picked up the drawings, tears beginning to well in the corners of his eyes. Stick figures, drawn with stubs of chalk and pieces of charcoal. A little boy with a man and a woman, all with blond hair. "Yes. These were mine."

"You are quite the artist, aren't you, Ven?" Naminé looked down at the drawings.

"I liked to draw what I imagined my parents to look like. Even though they abandoned me here, I still wanted them to come back for me; I wanted to know that they wanted me."

"Ven…"

Jiminy looked at the drawings. "Ven, I'm sure you'll find the answers you wanted as a child, and still want now. When we defeat Xehanort, you should come back here and find them. You deserve answers."

"Thanks, Jiminy."

* * *

"You're not serious!?"

"If Braig's telling the truth," Sasuke huffed, "which he might not be, then that means there's a chance we can free my father, my master, and Mrs. Rimi and they'll come back… or something else might happen. But the child is my concern."

"How long have they been alive?" Dilan shook his head. "They couldn't have had a son old enough to go off alone that long ago."

Aeleus crossed his arms. "Unless the child is an infant. Kaname and Rimi could have left him with someone, found a family to watch over him, but it does still beg the question as to how long they've been alive."

The three guards quietly began debating the possibilities amongst themselves, but Ansem kept quiet. After a moment the ruler slammed his hand on the table. "It doesn't matter. All we need to think about is finding this boy. Kaname and Rimi would want us to take care of him."

"So, look for a boy with auburn or red hair."

"Not, necessarily." Ansem held up his hand. "Look for a boy who is lost and looking for help. He might not look like them at all."

"Should we inform Kairi and the others about this?" asked Sasuke.

"Perhaps." Ansem sighed. "The boy might have found them already, but it would probably be best if they knew to look for him. I will contact them. All of you, search around this world; if the boy is here, we have to find him."

All three guards bowed. Dilan and Aeleus left, but Sasuke paused for a moment. "My lord, what did you mean by saying their son might not look like them at all?"

"There is one possibility you three forgot… the boy could be adopted. Whatever the case, he must be found."

"Of course." Sasuke then left. He didn't know how to take this new information. On one hand, it'd be great to meet this son of Master Kaname, and Kairi could actually have a brother. But is this information accurate? And if it is, is the child safe?

The captain sighed and decided that all he could do was follow this lead, no matter where it took him.

* * *

Night began to fall and the city, which seemed bustling became quiet, but not dark, as the sun fell. The tall buildings glowed with blue lights. Across the city, humans, elves, and retired YoRHa models peered from windows and atop buildings, watching for the perpetrator of the murders.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi sat on one roof, looking down at a neighborhood. Across the way, they could see Lea, Roxas, and Xion watching their own area. On the other side of town Mickey, Donald, and Goofy watched one side of another neighborhood, while Aqua, Ven, and Naminé watched the other side.

Lea yawned. Oh, how he wanted a cup of coffee right about now. He kept his eyes peeled for any sign of trouble, especially since Roxas and Xion weren't doing that. The two young kids sat beside one another, in awe of the city.

It was a pretty cool place and nothing like those two had ever seen. He'd give them a break, just this once.

The two quietly talked, giggling some as well. After a bit, Xion leaned against Roxas, and from her soft breathing, Lea could tell that she had fallen asleep. A smile weaved its way across his face as he watched Roxas put an arm around Xion and pull her close.

He opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. "Roxas, get her up." Lea looked around, and saw two glowing red eyes in the shadows.

Without waiting for his younger friends, the pyro leapt down, sending fire at the red-eyed creature. "BURN!"

The creature moved, leaping into the light of the buildings. It flinched but stood its ground. Roxas and Xion came down as well and found themselves staring at a large dog with bristly black fur. One either side of its mouth, two large fangs hung down.

"I think we found our killer."

Suddenly, two androids from earlier leapt down. 9S called to his partner. "2B, it's a Dip(6)!"

"What are three civilians doing her, 9S?"

"I don't know."

Lea and the other two focused their attention on the dog, and after a moment, they could see that it had only three legs(7). "Roxas, get in there and distract it, then go for the only back leg while Xion and I take the front!"

"On it!"

They ran for the attack. Roxas found the android 9S at his side a moment later. He said nothing, but pulled out a sword and joined him.

The black dog snarled, leaping at the two. Lea, Xion, and 2B charged a moment later. They slashed at the creature , only for a darkness to cover the black dog. It snarled and barked as a Heartless insignia appeared on the top of its head.

"Think this is the Heartless Kaname warned Nami about?"

"Doubt it," Lea tensed. "Looks a little too small for that compared to the firebird, and if they want more than one Heartless, they're probably about the same strength.

"Quit talking!" 2B snapped. "If you want to fight, fight. If not then you can leave." The Dip Heartless roared before charging. Everyone leapt to the side as the dog snapped at their heels, attempting to sink his blood-draining teeth into them.

It howled, an ear-splitting cry that made everyone cover their ears. Xion looked up to see the Heartless bearing down on her, mouth open to swallow her head in one go. Her arm came up and Keyblade appeared just in time to block the mouthful of teeth. The full weight of the monster bore down on her.

" _Don't be afraid, and do as I say_."

"Huh?"

The voice echoed in her mind, offering her instruction. The voice. It was the same one who gave her the Keyblade she wielded. When the instruction stopped, Xion closed her eyes. "Warp!" A moment later, she found herself next to Roxas, five feet from a very confused Heartless.

"Whoa! How'd you do that!?"

"I'll tell you later!" She charged back in, 2B joining her. The two girls slashed at the creature, which still needed a moment to recover from its confusion. The beast turned on them, but Xion used her new trick and got behind it, slashing its one good hind leg. With a few good hits, the back leg gave out, giving Roxas and 2B a chance to drive their blades into the monster's back and head. With a final roar, it vanished.

"Yeah!"

2B put away her swords, glancing over at the Keybearers. "Thank you for the help, but you need to go. We will handle things from here."

"Fine, you do the paperwork."

* * *

"That couldn't have been the Heartless Kaname warned us about," Sora shook his head. "That thing wasn't even close to the strength of the Firebird Heartless, and whatever monster Xehanort wants, it's probably as strong as that one was."

Everyone nodded. Cyprus came into the basement; he and his wife offered to let the group sleep there after the night's events. However, the elf guard looked angry and distraught. "The Dip didn't do it."

"Huh?"

He sat down, rubbing his forehead as if nursing a headache. "Another elf died last night. Drained of blood again. This time is happened just down the street."

"Oh no!"

"After last night, YoRHa has agreed to work with the Oposicao, so we better get to the crime scene."

* * *

Selene watched the group leave, Cyprus taking little Luna with him to drop her off at the taxi stop so the carriage would take her to school.

"Ven…" The blue elf went into the back room and began fishing through records. Ven. The name did not sound familiar. Perhaps it was a nickname.

If he was here when the old owner lived here, then that would have been, oh over 20 years ago. Ven didn't look that old, but she pulled out the record box from that time anyway. So many files… this could take a while.

* * *

Kaname slipped through the forest, making no noise on the soft turf. In the distance, he could hear the patter of animal feet.

The howl of a wolf broke the silence. Another howl. And then another.

Why hadn't he just gone into the castle to hide and made things easier? Oh yeah, that's right. Couldn't risk the castle residents getting hurt on his account.

He slid to a stop as a pair of yellow eyes peered at him out of the darkness. A wolf, no, make that a pack of wolves, came out of the trees on all sides.

"Well, this is fun…"

The animals charged at him and the captain drew his blade. He honestly did not want to hurt the animals, they were just doing what they do. It wasn't like they were being purposefully malicious.

A large weight jumped on his back, sending Kaname hurtling to the ground. He could hear the snarling in his ears.

But he didn't fight back.

Xehanort would find him eventually, so maybe dying would be better. He, Yamato, and Rimi talked about this numerous times. And now, it came time to literally do or die.

A moment later he felt the wolf atop him flinch and then jump off. The patter of feet faded away. Then he felt it, the cold of darkness. Xehanort's control worming its way into his mind. With the last ounce of free will, before it completely vanished, he looked up to see Braig smirking down at him.

"Hello there, 'Captain'. Long time no see."

* * *

 **Yes! Tech Town!**

 **Again, this backstory for Ven was created BEFORE KHUX did its thing with Ven.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This scene and all the ones with Sasuke original came from Yamichaos27!

(2) The gladiolus flower has a number of meanings. The most prominent one is honor and remembrance, but other meanings include 1. Strength of character, 2. Faithfulness, sincerity, and integrity, and 3. Never giving up. All traits Momo saw in both Yamato and Sasuke. Also, it's sometimes called a sword flower or sword lily and was also considered the flower of gladiators

(3) This is portuguese for opposition.

(4) Devola and Popola wouldn't have their looks from NieR: Automata but would look like they did in the original NieR game.

(5) Remember this from KH4?

(6) Dips are vampiric hellhounds from catalonian myth, specifically from a village called Pratdip.

(7) Dips either were lame or missing a limb.

* * *

 _VAs:_

 _Selene Sylvari- Karen Strassman (Miyuki Takara, Urd, Kallen Stadfeld, Suigintou)_

 _Cyprus Sylvari- Tony Oliver (Sigurd, Minato Namikaze, Soujiro Izumi, Nanafushi)_

* * *

 **Yes, No, Maybe So**

We pray, we ask, and we get an answer.

God always answers our prayers, though we may not like the answer of understand it yet.

Many times, when we pray and something doesn't happen, we think that we haven't been heard. But we forget, "no" and "wait" are answers too. Now, we may not like those answers, but they are answers none the less. And if He does say no, remember Romans 8:28, " _And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose._ "

Sometimes we expect God to do everything for us too. We ask for things and he could be waiting on us. We ask Him for a job, but we don't apply anywhere. Or sometimes, he leaves a decision up to us.

So, when you pray and nothing happens, remember, God could be saying no or wait, or he could be waiting on you to move.


	35. Chapter 35: Tech Town- Mystery Solved

**This chapter accidentally turned into something unique: a murder mystery!**

 **And may I just say… that Big Hero 6 trailer though!**

 **Whatever, let's just get to the chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Luna, Cyprus, and Selene © to Nintendoman01!**

 **Yamato © to Yamichaos27!**

 **All other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 35: Tech Town- Mystery Solved**

* * *

Kaname hit the back of the cell.

"Where are they?"

"I don't know." The captain grit his teeth as the darkness that bound his hands together began to burn with a dark fire. "We split up! Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you!"

Xemnas turned back to look at Master Xehanort. The old man locked eyes with Kaname, not intimidated by the burning anger in the captain's glare. "And the boy?"

"Same thing. I don't know. Get that through your wrinkled, shiny, bald dome!"

Xemnas shot forward, his fist impacting with Kaname's face, sending the captive man to the ground. "Why? What have you to gain from turning the boy against us?"

"Gain?" Kaname closed his eyes as he spit out a mouthful of blood. "It's not about what we gained, but what he gained. He has freedom and a family now. That's what matters."

"The r-"

"His name is Arata!"

Master Xehanort nodded to Xemnas; as the Nobody went over and began kicking the downed captain. "If he attempts to make contact with Sora, we will kill him."

"No you won't, you need him."

"We can always find another," Xehanort smirked. "And when that time comes, know that you and your wife were the ones who killed your 'son'. Xemnas, come."

The two men left the cell, leaving the captain alone. Kaname felt the darkness around his wrists vanish before he felt his side. "Ow… well, that rib's broken." He sighed. "Master, Rimi, be safe. Arata, my son, find Kairi. Please…"

* * *

"Go on, Luna." Cyprus motioned towards the taxi stop. "Have a good day at school."

"Bye Daddy!"

Sora looked at the small house surrounded by YoRHa agents. His heart sank as he saw androids bringing out a body bag. "What else could've done this?"

"Excuse me, little lady, but a crime scene is no place for a child." The group turned and saw a human male dressed in a nice coat with slicked-back black hair. He stood over Luna.

Cyrus strode over. "Luna, go on."

"One moment." The man knelt down and put a hand behind the little elf girl's ear; when he pulled his hand back he held a small flower with a yellow bulb and red flowers that hung down(1). "Here you are. Have fun at school."

The little girl giggled as she took the flower. "Thank you, sir." She skittered off to the taxi stop.

"Is she your daughter, sir?"

"Yes," Cyrus nodded, "I'm Sergeant Cyrus Sylvari. And you are?"

The man stood up, bowing slightly. "I am Akakios Pratt(2) the new professor of literature at the royal university." He looked at the body bag. "It's sad, isn't it. Some people have no regard for life… but at least I was able to keep an innocent eye from seeing such a thing." He bowed again before continuing on.

Lea looked up at the sky, paying no mind to the leaving professor. "Looks like it's going to rain. Swell."

"Sergeant!" The YoRHa commander came over. "You and your companions follow me." Everyone went up into the house. In the first room, they saw an elf couple sobbing. "The elf that was killed was a teenager."

Kairi paused. "I'd like to talk to the parents… Nami, Xion, want to join me?"

"Sure."

"I'll come too." Jiminy hopped to Xion's shoulder as the three girls went into the room with the parents.

* * *

"An open window…" Riku looked around the deceased elf's room. "That's got to be how the assailant got inside."

Roxas flinched as he saw drops of blood on the bed. "And the window is too small for the Dip, but a person might be able to squeeze through. What were those things you mentioned, Nose-fer-ate-too?"

"Nosferatu."

"The way you described them, they sound like vampires." Ven sadly picked up a photo of the elf, a young male with deep violet skin. "But why go after elves only?"

9S came into the room. The small android looked down at a small tablet in his hand. "Ryan Ellsworth. Seventeen years old. He was preparing to start school at the royal university to get a degree in literature."

"Wait, wasn't that guy we met earlier a professor of literature? Maybe he knew the kid."

9S looked at the group. "The sergeant and I will handle things here. You go talk to your contact."

"Alright." The boys went out, meeting up with the girls and Jiminy who finished talking with the parents. Mickey looked around at all the buildings. "So, now we need to find the university."

Ven began walking towards the street. He held up his hand, waiting until a carriage drawn by two stallions pulled up. "This way guys!"

Everyone climbed into the large carriage as the driver, a teal-skinned elf, turned around. "Hello, my name is Algar Droit(3). Where can I take you?"

"The royal university, please."

The elf nodded and clicked at the horses who started trotting down the road. Tall buildings towered over them, but past them, in the middle of the city stood a diamond of four buildings, and what buildings they were. "Welcome to the four corners of Tech Town." He pointed to the western building. "That is the Sunset(4) Bank." His finger moved to the eastern building. "There's the Sunrise(5) Cathedral." Then to the southern. "That is the Crux(6) Royal University." His finger moved to the largest, most beautiful building, in the north. "That is the Stellaris Palace(7), where the king and queen live."

He pulled up in front of the Crux University and the gang exited. The large building looked like a castle all on its own. They hurried up the steps. Signs, nearly neon, that stood out from the rest of the old looking building, pointed their path towards the literature department.

Soon they found a classroom open. Inside they saw Akakios trimming one of the plants he'd given to little Luna. The professor looked up at them. "Oh, hello again. How may I help you?"

"We were wondering if you knew the kid who was killed." Sora's voice came out soft as he remembered the boy, who was barely older than himself. "He was going to come here for a literature degree. His name was Ryan Ellsworth."

The professor set down his trimming scissors and sighed. "Ellsworth. What a bright young boy. Poor child. I'm so sorry. I don't think I know anything that might help. I saw him a week ago, but that's it. Perhaps you can talk to Professor Nannie Dries(8); she is his advisor. I am just a professor. You can find her down the hall."

"Thank you, Akakios."

As everyone left, Goofy stopped, looking back into the room. "Hey guys, I think that somethin's-"

"Oh what do you know, ya big palooka!" Donald snapped.

The dog blinked, scratching the side of his head. "What do I know?"

A few of the others giggled as they continued on. When they found the door with the nameplate for Nannie Dries, they found the door wide open with books all over the floor. "Uh, hello?"

A woman stuck her head up from the other side of the room. Her caramel-colored curls bouncing around her head. "Oh, hello." She lifted up the ruffled white skirt under a dark purple coat and petticoat, as she moved across the book-covered floor. "I'm Nannie Dries, Professor of Historical and Detective Literature. How may I help you?"

"We wanted to ask you something about Ryan Ellsworth."

The woman smiled. "Ryan? He's a wonderful boy! Tell me, why do you need to ask about him?"

"He's dead."

The professor paused. "What?"

Kairi paused for a moment. "He was murdered. We think it was by a Nosferatu, and we're trying to find it. Is there anything you can tell us about him that might help?"

"Oh, that poor boy." The woman bit her lip and began to pace back and forth, running a finger through her hair. "I'll help in any way I can." She stumbled over a pile of books and grabbed a stack of papers from between a set of books. "Nosferatu… Nosferatu… Nos… N, N, N…" She shuffled through the papers. "Na… Ne… Ni… Ah!" She pulled out some old parchment. "Nosferatu. A blood-sucking creature that's main goal in life is to feed off the blood of those whom they deem unworthy, and to reproduce, bringing more of their kind into the world. These creatures were thought to have been wiped out long ago, during the war against the Venefilba. However, sightings of the Nosferatu have been reported since their apparent destruction. The most well-known sighting is the set of serial murders that were committed in the span of one year where a Nosferatu drained fifty humans of all their blood and left red roses in their shirts. This is why red roses are called 'blood roses'."

Xion gulped. "A serial killer?"

"Yes," Ven piped up. "I remember this. We had guards around the orphanages for months. They told us that Rudah Vardan(9) was coming to kill us. They told us to look for a pale human with red eyes." His eyes lit up. "Hey, we can ask 9S and 2B if there are any flowers involved in these murders."

"Good idea, Ven!" Mickey bowed his head politely to the professor. "Thank you, Nannie. You've been a wonderful help."

"Anything to catch the killer of poor Ryan."

The group walked out of the building and into the main square. Elves and humans passed them on their way to work. Behind the library, a tall skyscraper with the word YoRHa on the side. Androids went in and out.

Suddenly, Kairi stopped. She glanced around. "Kairi?"

"I thought someone was watching us…" For a moment, she thought she saw a flash of auburn. "I guess I must have imagined it."

As they crossed towards the YoRHa building, trumpets blared out. Everyone stopped and turned to see a man and woman, both with light blond hair, coming down the stairs to a carriage. "Who is that?"

"Must be."

Ven stared at the two, his heart stirring slightly as his friends walked away. "Do I… know them?"

"Ven! Hurry up!"

The boy watched as the royal carriage rolled away before following the others into the YoRHa building. The commander stood in the main area, her eyes narrowing at the group. "What is it?"

"We had some questions about the case." Riku walked up to the commander. "We want to see if there's a connection between this killer and Rudah Vardan."

The commander's eyes widened slightly. "How did you know?"

"A professor at the university."

"Oh…" the android closed her eyes, sighing. "Fine. Follow me." She led them upstairs. Floor after floor. Up and up until they reached the tenth floor: Forensics Department. "Operator 6O, pull up photos from each crime scene."

"Yes, ma'am!" A perky-voiced android with yellow braids began to type.

The commander sat down in a chair and looked at the group. "How much do you know about Rudah Vardan?"

"Just the basic story."

"Rudah was one of the last generals of the Nosferatu. He was known for laying red roses on the bodies of his enemies. After the war, he went around killing humans. He would lay a red rose on the inside of their shirt. After a year, he vanished. But he left his mark. Red roses have been known as Blood Roses ever since." She stood up as photographs appeared on a large screen. "However, this time, the victims are all elves, and the flowers… they're not roses, but Asclepias Curassavica: Blood Flowers."

Ven stared out the window as the commander continue on about the flowers. "Ven?"

Naminé walked over, speaking softly. "Are you alright?"

"No… this is my home." He sighed. "Somewhere out there, my parents could be walking around, not caring about what happens to me. I remember all of this. The trips I would take with my foster families… everything looks the same. It's almost, haunting." He could see the sun beginning to set over the city. How long had they been out today?

The yellow pockets still in the sky seemed to drip red light across the giant canvas sky. His eyes moved from outside to inside, and on the screen, he saw that same flash of color. "Huh, wait a second…"

* * *

"Goodnight, Mama." Luna curled up under the bedsheets. Her mother stood in the doorway before closing the door. All the children lay in bed.

Cyrus came out of the boys' room. "Everyone's sleeping."

"Good." Selene stepped into her office and continued sifting through records. Ven. Where was his record?

And then…

"Ven… Ventus!?" The elf's eyes widened. "Cyrus!"

* * *

Ven looked at the screen, pointing. "Is that the Blood Flower?" He pointed to a photo of Ryan, his coat open with a small flower on his chest. The flower: a yellow bulb and hanging red petals.

"Yes."

"That's the flower that Professor Akakios had in his room." Everyone paused. "Goofy, you stopped us as we left his room. What did you see?"

The dog scratched his head. "I didn't see Akakios' shadow. I thought it was strange."

"No shadow?"

"Nosferatu didn't have shadows."

Jiminy hopped onto the desk and point. "Hold on a moment. The professor didn't have red eyes."

Operator 6O piped up. "He could be a Dhampir. The offspring of a human and a Nosferatu. They are able to blend into society."

"Wait!" Naminé pointed. "Didn't the professor give Cyrus' daughter, Luna one of those flowers?"

Ven turned and ran for the door. "Aqua, we need to go! Luna could be in danger!" The two ran down with the others following. As soon as Aqua and Ven stepped outside, they activated their gliders and shot towards the orphanage.

* * *

Luna lay in bed, curled up under the sheets. A window slowly creaked open and a lithe figure slid in. Akakios stood tall, dressed in a black trench coat. His eyes flashed red as his mouth opened and fangs glistened in his mouth. He picked up the flower he gave the little elf to put on the girl once she was dead.

"Goodbye, little girl…"

The door slammed open, startling the Dhampir and waking Luna, as Aqua burst in. "Get away from her!"

Akakios jumped back as Fire spells peppered his body. His coat singed and burned, as did the arms of the Dhampir. "How dare you!?"

"How dare _you_! Leave this girl alone!"

Cyrus and Selene ran in, gaping at the sight of the red-eyed, fanged man standing near their daughter. Luna jumped up and ran to her father as the Dhampir turned and leapt out the window, spells still burning his back as he went.

Aqua looked down at little Luna who leaned into the arms of her father. "Thank goodness we made it in time."

* * *

Akakios stumbled into the trees. He fell down against a tall oak, the fire still burning him. "Father," he hissed, "I will kill the elves as you killed the humans. I will do it, even if I die."

"You really want to kill them?" Akakios turned to see a boy with silver hair, standing beside a pale elf with red eyes. The elf, a woman in a long dress, smiled. "It is good to see Rudah's son taking after his father."

The Dhampir smirked. "Tene Bris(10) what do I owe the pleasure?"

"My companion here wants to help you. Believe me, he is trustworthy to our cause."

"Oh? Do you know this because he was willing to continue to help you continue the Venefilba bloodline?(11)"

The elf laughed. "That is beside the point. Take his help, and you need it. Look at yourself burned and broken."

Young Xehanort approached and knelt before the half-nosferatu. "Open your heart to darkness, and you can slay without equal." He placed his hand on the man's shoulder and darkness seeped into the Dhampir.

* * *

"The king and queen are coming here?"

"Yes, they want to see how Luna is doing and meet the warriors who killed the Dip and stopped the Dhampir."

YoRHa arrived soon after Akakios disappeared into the woods; however, scouring the forest turned up no sign of the Dhampir. Selene held a file in her hands and tried to get someone's attention the entire time, but everyone found themselves busy with the hunt for Akakios.

The children all grew excited at the prospect of meeting the king and queen, and even Selene seemed very excited. Her hands gripped the file close.

A fine carriage pulled up in front of the orphanage. Many androids lined up to provide a sort of guard for the king and queen. The king stepped out first, dressed in blue, silver, and gold armor. His hair slightly spiked upwards, through and around the crown on his head; his royal blue eyes glistened like jewels. He held out his hand and helped his queen, dressed in a flowery ball gown. A circlet of silver sat in her ash-blonde hair which hung down to her shoulders.

Again, Ven's heart seemed to leap at the sight of them, but he did not know why.

Cyrus bowed low, gesturing for the children to do the same. "King Solomon. Queen Victoria. It's an honor to have you visit us."

"The honor is ou-"

A blast of darkness hit the royal carriage, blowing it apart. Androids moved to protect the king and queen. "What a beautiful gathering." Young Xehanort stood on the orphanage roof, smirking down at the group.

"You!?"

"Here to celebrate the saving of a life?" The young man ignored Sora's outburst. "Perhaps you should've looked harder for the perpetrator before celebrating."

A cloud of darkness appeared beside him and from it stepped Akakios, looking down. The Dhampir looked up, his eyes a glowing yellow. His mouth opened, revealing his fangs.

Suddenly, he hissed. A dark pulse exploded from him. His black coat seemed to fuse to his body and turn into fur. His body grew and elongated until he now stood ten feet if he stood on his back two legs, as he dropped to all fours. White appear on his hands and feet as they turned into paws. His face elongated into a snout and his ears rounded as a bushy black tail appeared. A Heartless insignia appeared on its neck as it let out a screaming bark.

The Monuca(12) Heartless jumped onto the human driver of the royal carriage. A talon stuck into the man's back. The fur on the Heartless' paw began to turn slightly red before the Heart vanished into darkness.

It turned, tearing into androids before anyone could move.

"I think we have a blood-sucking Heartless on our hands!" Lea charged in, only for the bushy tail to swat him back.

Standing in front of the king and queen, Sora yelled. "We have to take it down!"

Ven ran in, followed by android 9S. The two boys slashed at the monster as it turned to grab one of the children. Aqua moved to go after Young Xehanort, but the young man had vanished.

A darkness clouded the head of the Monuca for a moment. It froze for a moment before charging towards the king and queen. "Get down!" Sora held up his Keyblade to block as the creature leapt over them and vanished into a portal of darkness.

"It just… left."

Sora huffed. "I'm getting Spellican vibes again. I don't like it."

"I guess they didn't want us killing their big Heartless." Naminé helped the queen stand.

King Solomon took a deep breath. "Thank you for saving us."

Everyone picked themselves up and an air of relief from the attack fell over everything. Selene ran up to the king and queen. She showed them the file in her hand before pointing to the group. The faces of the rulers turned to shock as the conversation continued on.

The king slowly walked over to the group. His eyes darted around until they landed on Ven. "A-are you Ven?"

"Yeah."

"I-is your name V-Ventus?" The queen grabbed her husband's arm.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah… Why?"

Solomon and Victoria gasped lightly as tears began to appear in their eyes. People around them began muttering to themselves; Ven's name passed through every mouth. Solomon reached out, stopping short of Ven. "I-is it really you… son?"

"SON!?"

"Wait!" Ven stepped back. "Are you saying that you're my… no, you can't be."

Victoria grabbed the boy's hands. "Many years ago. We left our son, Ventus here, at this orphanage. We had no choice… we came back years later, but he was gone. He'd run away the day before." She reached up, touching Ven's cheek. "You're the spitting image of your father."

Ven stared into her eyes. The blue matching his own. "How long ago…? How long ago was it when you came to find your son? How long ago did you leave him here."

"It was… twenty-eight(13) years ago when we left him, and we came back seven years later." The king's eyes held an air of hopefulness as he stared at Ven. "He'd run away the day before we came." He reached into his coat and pulled out a picture. "This was the only thing the orphanage owners would give us of his."

Ven took the paper. A painting. The painting. The social workers had each child paint themselves as something to leave behind at the orphanage if or when they got adopted… A stick figure boy with yellow hair. A boy, not smiling.

Messy, childish letters spelled out "My name is Ventus".

"This was our sons'…"

"Th-this is mine…"

Ven looked up at the king and queen; their eyes shined with tears as they both fell to their knees and wrapped their arms around them. He wanted to be angry. He wanted to feel hurt. He wanted to scream at them for leaving him in that hellhole. His mouth opened, but only choked sobs came out as his own tears began to flow.

The other Keybearers stood nearby, watching in utter astonishment as Solomon cried out. "My son! My boy! We've searched for so long…"

"My baby…!" Victoria peppered the boy's head with soft, motherly kisses.

Ventus just melted into the arms of his parents. All anger falling away as their love surrounded him. He finally had his family.

* * *

"Thank you for inviting us," Aqua smiled as she sat down at the large dining table.

Eventually, Ven and his parents had pulled away, and then the king and queen invited him and all his companions to the castle for supper.

"Any friend of our son is welcome here." Solomon grinned.

Servants brought out a magnificent dinner, and everyone almost forgot about Xehanort and their troubles for a while. They enjoyed their meal in the peace of a loving home. A large, royal home, but a home nonetheless.

As the dessert course came out, Ven set down his glass of strawberry cordial. "M-Mother… Father. Please. I'd like to know why you left me at the orphanage."

Victoria and Solomon glanced at one another before nodding. "We'll tell you everything…"

* * *

 _Many years before, a sickness fell over the world of Tech Town. Poor people did not have enough to pay for treatment or medicine, so many perished._

 _Solomon and Victoria Caelum had their only child, a son named Ventus, during this time. They knew, as poor as they were, they could not afford to care for a child, and if the boy should take ill, he would surely die._

 _Orphanages received free medical care to all children._

 _They had no choice._

 _One night, they went to the boy's home with their infant son._

" _Solomon, d-do we have to do this?"_

" _We don't have a choice. He'll die if we don't. We don't have the munny to care for him. We'll all starve. And, if the plague takes him, we cannot afford a doctor to make him well."_

" _I know..."_

" _It's for the best…"_

 _In the dark of the night, the parents laid Ventus in a box before knocking on the orphanage door and hurrying away._

" _Goodbye, Ventus…"_

 _The plague passed, and Solomon found work. He did housework and gardening for an elf scholar, who taught him to read and write. Eventually, the couple had enough munny to support themselves and a child. So, they went back for Ventus._

 _But, the boy had run away the night before._

 _Solomon and Victoria did everything they could to find their son, but they found no trace. Convinced that they just didn't have enough resources, Solomon worked to get better ones._

 _He ran for public office. And won._

 _He became known and loved on their world. A gentle man whose only goal was to find his son. People wanted to help._

 _His story gained attention, and then, one day, the aging king called for him. With no heir, the old king looked hard for a successor. He watched Solomon, saw his kindness, his wisdom, and his selflessness. Overall, he wanted to help the father find his son. And so the old king named Solomon his successor._

 _But with every resource at their disposal. Solomon and Victoria still couldn't find their son..._

* * *

Ven stared down at his sorbet, lightly flicking the cold sweet with his spoon. "So, that's why…"

"Son, we know why you ran away. There's a reason we had the former orphanage owners arrested and charged, but what happened to you? We've been looking for twenty-one years… you not only seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth, but you don't look a day older than fifteen."

Ven let out a long sigh before he began to relate his story. His parents sat in awe, shock, and horror as he spelled out his life, from his time training to Xehanort to the most recent events. As he relayed their mission here, the rulers listened intently.

"Does that mean, you will be leaving, son?"

"I have to." The boy nodded. "I can't just let Xehanort get away with this."

Aqua reached over, laying her hand on Victoria's. "Don't worry. We will stop Xehanort and bring your son back to you. I promise."

"Thank you."

* * *

Everyone agreed to stay the night at the Tech Town castle. Ven lay in the large bed, floundering in the soft bed sheets. He watched the soft moonlight filter through the window, dancing in patterns on the walls and sheets.

A smile filled his features, and for once in his life, he really felt like he was home.

* * *

Yamato sat in a tree, staring down at the town below. He knew the signs of battle when he saw them, and the damage around the town showed obvious signs.

People worked to pick up rubble, especially around a large church.

He could see some people using magic to repair the damage. Actually, he could sense magic all around him. Earlier, a young girl with long blonde hair had passed, and the magic around her was strong(14).

Part of him wanted to go down and ask for help, but he couldn't risk innocent lives.

He leaned back, resting. His mind wandered to his family… his son, Sasuke. How he longed to go and just talk with him.

His eyes shot open as the cold darkness gripped his heart. Xehanort's will wormed its way inside of his mind. Xemnas suddenly appeared in front of him, on the branch. "Here you are, Yamato. It is time to return to your cage."

* * *

 **Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) These are called Blood Flowers.

(2) Akakios means "innocent, not evil"; ironic, isn't it? And Pratt means "cunning, trick".

(3) This is Lyla's father. Algar means "elf spear"

(4) The sun goes down in the west.

(5) The sun comes up in the east.

(6) The Crux is a constellation in the southern sky.

(7) The is a reference to the Northern star.

(8) Nannie is a diminutive of Nancy and Dries is a diminutive of Drew.

(9) Rudah means "red" and Vardan means "rose".

(10) Look who it is!

(11) This is where Xext and Angel "began"

(12) A Monuca is a vampiric creature from Cantabrian myth. Normally it is aggressive towards women. In most cases, it is white with red stripes and a purple tail. Due to different circumstances, one can be only black and white. It is supposed to be born during spring once every 11 years when a male wildcat mates with a female marten.

(13) I have it that he was 15 in BBS and that he was asleep for 13 years.

(14) This is the world of Fiore, based on the anime "Fairy Tail". This was going to be a world in the fic, but I took it out and put Tech Town in its place. 

* * *

_VAs:_

 _Luna Sylvari: Sarah Williams (Lisbeth, Yuniko Kozuki, Sayaka Miki, Uni/Black Sister)_

 _Akakios Pratt: Peter Stormare (Dracula, Mr. Freeze/Victor Fries, Dr. Hill, Lord Dregg)_

 _Algar Droit: Christian Lanz (Leon S. Kennedy, Follows Chalk, Fishface, Vernon Blake)_

 _Nannie Dries: Lani Minella (Nancy Drew, Sea Emperor, Luke Triton, Rouge the Bat)_

 _Solomon Caelum: Timothy Dalton (Lord Milori, Mr. Pricklepants, Ged/Sparrowhawk)_

 _Victoria Caelum: Angelica Huston (Queen Clarion, Queen Usurna, Gothel, Claudine) _

* * *

**In Your Neighborhood**

As Christians, we are called to tell the world about Jesus. We sent missionaries around the world to do this very thing.

But what if you don't go to some foreign land to share the gospel?

Do you have to go far away to tell people about God?

Why not look around you now?

You can tell the people in your own town, on your own street, at your school, at your job. Just because you don't have a degree in missions and are planning to serve in a foreign nation doesn't mean you're stuck doing nothing.

We are supposed to share the love of Christ across the entire world, and that means right where you are now too.


	36. Chapter 36: Hazy Hamlet- The Slums

**It's October, so I've got some spoopy chapters for you. If you've never read "The Signalman" by Charles Dickens, you should. It's a short horror story and there are some things taken from that story.**

 **I digress. Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Dragon Quest © to Square Enix!**

 **Yamato © to Yamichaos27!**

 **Hazy Hamlet and other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 36: Hazy Hamlet- The Slums**

* * *

As the gummi ship shot through the stars, Ven lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. A smile decorated his features as he remembered the recent parting with his mother and father…

" _Do you have to go?"_

" _Yeah, I have to stop Xehanort, but I'll come back, I promise."_

" _We will be waiting…"_

He sat up, his eyes moving to the small parcel on the edge of his bed. His mother had given him a present before he'd left; why he had left it sitting on the end of his bed for nearly two days, he did not know. He had a small idea about what the package was, and when he opened it, he found his suspicion to be true. He smiled before taking off his jacket and vest. He took the silvery-blue vest out of the box and put it on. Over his shoulder, the one without armor, he draped a deep blue cape that hung down to his wrist; he used the straps he usually wore to keep it in place and the mastery symbol to keep the cape from sliding off.

Looking into the mirror, he smiled. He did look kinda like a prince. A prince of an entire world… How amazing.

Outside, he could hear the others moving around. Supper would be ready soon. He stepped outside. In the kitchen, he saw Sora cooking. Oh, it smelled amazing! "What's for supper?"

"I'm making Kairi's favorite: kare raisu!" Sora grinned. "It's rice with curry."

Donald, sitting nearby, let out a snicker. "Oh, so it's Kairi's favorite?"

"Shut it, Donald!" The boy turned to blow a raspberry at the duck when he saw Ven. "Wow! Looking good, Ven! Was the that the present from your mom?"

The others all looked his way as the blond boy blushed slightly at the attention. "Yeah, Mom gave it to me."

Naminé giggled, a soft flush of pink crossing her features. "You look very princely. It's a good look for you."

"Th-thanks, Nami." The boy's blush deepened.

"Prince Ventus…"

Ven sat down at the table, the others joining as Sora put three pots on the table. "Ok, one is spicy, one is not, and there's some rice too." As they ate, Sora looked over at Naminé. "So, we're on the way to the last world Kaname warned us about, right? You've been driving, so can you tell us where we're heading?"

"Of course." The girl shoved a spoonful of rice into her mouth. "Kaname said the last place was Hazy Hamlet."

Everyone jumped as Aqua coughed, nearly choking on her curry. "A-are you sure?"

"Yes…"

Noting the expression on the young woman's face, everyone tensed. She'd told them about her home before, and they all had an idea for how bad it was. Jiminy stood up in the middle of the table, carrying his bottle cap of curry and rice. "Aqua, I realize this might hard, but if we do have to go there, you know more about that world than any of us. Tell us what we need to do."

"Oh yes, of course." She shook her head. "We need to stick together, in groups of at least three. That'll dissuade slavers from coming after us. It is also best to not speak to anyone while in the city, especially if they're a soldier. Actually, it's best to just avoid the city if we can; the slums aren't a clean or comfortable place, but then we'll be around people who won't try to kill or kidnap us. Hopefully, I will find someone who knows me from all those years ago, and I know that Terra's mother will help us if we need it. She was a sweet woman. Just follow me, I know my way around."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

"Ugh, I'm getting Les Tayny vibes here." Xion shivered as a cold wind blew across the virtually dead landscape.

Leafless trees swayed under a gray sky; a thin layer of fog clung to the earth around them. Nearby, through the trees, they could see high wooden walls. Noises and cheers wafted over from behind the walls.

"Julma Sydan(1)." Aqua huffed. "I hate this garbage dump of a city. Let's just hurry through." She led the way, the others keeping very close as they walked.

"Is there a party or something?"

"Looks like All Fools Day(2)," the blue-haired woman grit her teeth. "It was a day the royals would use as an excuse to get drunk and make an even worse mockery of the lower classes and slaves than they already do. We need to avoid the town twice as much now."

Passing by the gates, they could see people in fine clothes all laughing and guzzling down as much wine as they possibly could.

For a moment, the group stopped, watching. Sora trembled, resisting the urge to summon his Keyblade and bash the entire city of people. In the crowd, slaves moved about, working. Working as rich people dumped wine and food on them, among other things…

"Come on," Aqua looked down. "We can't do anything for them."

"We can't just walk away!"

Her voice lowered. "You'll be killed. There is an underground rebellion, and if we can help on a small scale we will. Running into the middle of the city, full of guards is stupid." Sora looked at her, and seeing the anguish in her eyes, relaxed. She didn't want to pass them by either. "Please, just keep going."

Slowly, they moved on, past the crazy party. Just outside the city lay a flat area, muddy from the large nearby river, on which stood dozens of small houses. Well, if one could call them houses. Shacks made of rotting wood with straw for roofs sinking into the mud only held up by rocks and sand.

Aqua stopped, staring out at the ragged slums and the ragged people walking among the houses. "This is my home. I was born here."

"Well, let's see if we can help these people." Sora bounced, ready to help in any way possible.

He and Kairi walked over to a blonde girl who picked up sticks off the ground. "Hello." Kairi picked up a stick and held it to the girl. "I'm Kairi."

"Lucis!" The girl screamed, running back towards the houses.

Kairi backed up as a young man, younger than her, with brown hair, came running over, sword drawn. Three others, about his age, came running over as well.

"Keep back, slavers!" A purple-haired boy held up his two, poorly made swords.

"We aren't slavers." Ven piped up. "We're here to help people."

A young man with spiky blue hair huffed. "Likely story."

"Wait," Aqua stepped forward, hands up in a placating manner, "is there someone here from thirty years ago? I used to live here, please let me speak to someone."

The first boy, Lucis, turned back to the girl who'd fled. "Gemma, go get your grandfather."

"Alright…" The girl ran off and came back with an old man; as they waited, people in the slums started to gather around, staring at their guests.

The old man walked up beside Lucis, seemingly unafraid of the newcomers. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Sir, my name is Aqua, Aqua Maris. I used to live here years ago with my mother and father."

"Maris…" He narrowed his eyes at her. "The Maris family is dead, but… you look like Rebecca. And Aqua was the name of their little girl. If you are her, how did you escape the tax law?"

Aqua stepped towards the man. "I was rescued by a Keyblade wielder named Eraqus. He raised me."

"If you are Aqua, you should be in your thirties, then why do you look not much older than my 16-year-old granddaughter?"

The young woman breathed out a laugh. "That's a very long story…"

"Dustan?" Lucis breathed out softly.

"One moment," the old man, Dustan, sighed. "Miss. If you really are Aqua Maris, as you so claim, can you show me where your house used to stand."

Aqua looked around. She knew tradition here. When a house was burned, people left the area alone out of respect. She saw piles of old wood and possibly ash scattered throughout the area. Out of pure instinct, her feet carried her down what was the closest thing to a road. The others all waited for her as she continued on.

She stopped. "Here."

"... welcome home, Aqua." With a wave of his hand, the four who'd initially greeted them lowered their weapons. "You and your friends are welcome here."

The same purple haired boy from before huffed. "We can't just let them in. It could be a trick."

"We look after our own, and Aqua here is one of us." Dustan smiled as the others approached. "Sorry for the gruff welcome, but we're very protective of our people, and you did scare my granddaughter, the wife of our lead protector." He gestured to the young people they'd first met. "Her name is Gemma. That's her husband, Lucis. The other three are Erik, Lazarel, and Theresa(3). Now, we don't have much, but we'll share it all the same."

"Thank you!" Mickey smiled. "Please, tell us what you need help with. We're willing to help with anything and everything."

"Thank you, all of you."

* * *

Kairi threw longs in a large bonfire. Cold winds picked up throughout the day, and people said they could smell the snow in the air. Gemma said it was far too dangerous to light fires inside the houses, as the houses were far too flammable.

The people of the slums gathered around the large fire, their only true source of warmth. She looked around to see Sora, Ven, and Roxas spent their time helping rebuild the different houses the slums. Nearly all of them needed some sort of repair, and with snow coming on, having some sort of added protection against the cold wouldn't hurt.

Riku, Lea, Xion, and Mickey joined Lucis and the others in their patrol around the slums. The rest of the group did their own parts across the town: gathering food, entertaining the children, gathering up warm blankets.

"We don't have very many…" Aqua looked at the pile of thin blankets she and Gemma gathered.

The blonde girl nodded. "Hopefully, the one rich family in the land that cares will come."

"A rich family?"

"Yes," the girl smiled, "only one family cares about us."

From a group of children, which sat around Naminé allowing her to draw them, suddenly, one of the little boys jumped to their feet and pointed towards town. "They're here! The Rikas(4) are here!" All the children jumped to their feet and ran towards the road. A wagon rolled towards them, drawn by two strong horses. Three women rode on the wagon and two men walked beside it.

One of the women wore a purple dress and coat with her soft brown hair pulled back into a bun. The next woman wore a fancy red evening dress and long boots; her dirty blonde hair hung down her back in waves. The third, much younger than the other two, wore a maroon dress and her wavy blonde hair hung around her shoulders.

The older of the two men wore a brown suit. His brown hair stuck up slightly in the back. The younger man wore a reddish waistcoat and his short, brown hair hung down to his ears.

Aqua stared at the woman in the purple dress. She looked so familiar… Then, it hit her. "Lady Tamara!?" Slowly, she made her way towards the cart. "Lady Tamara!"

The woman on the cart narrowed her eyes for a moment before gasping. "Is that… Aqua?"

"Does that mean…?" The other woman gasped.

"Terra?" The younger girl looked down at the men. "He might be here…"

The older man laid a hand on his heart. "After all this time."

The younger man smiled. "Finally…"

Aqua smiled as the woman, Tamara, leapt off the cart and embraced her. "Aqua, it's been far too long. Look at you… you haven't aged a day." Her eyes glanced around at the gathering crowd. "Where is my son?"

"Lady Tamara, I-I…"

"Where is Terra?"

One could almost taste the sorrow in the air as the mother realized her son to be nowhere around. "Tamara, I'm sorry. I'll explain everything." Her eyes drifted to the others with the woman. "But, I am surprised to see you with Archer and the others. I thought they hated you."

"We did," Archer stepped over to them. "Until we thought my… our son to be dead."

The younger man cleared his throat. "I hate to interject, but we have work to do. We can talk more tonight."

"I agree, Henry." The younger woman smiled, slipping down from the cart. "We came here to do a job."

Sora and the others approached. "Aqua, who are they?"

"That is Tamara, Terra's mother. The others are Terra's father, Archer, his step-mother, Drusilla, his step-sister, Abigail, and I don't know who the other person is."

Abigail looked up from the back of the cart. "That is Henry, my husband. Now, would you mind coming to help?"

Coming around back, Abigail handed them all large bundles of blankets. Tamara and Drusilla grabbed piles of clothing and began handing them out to people. Archer unhitched the horses and helped hand out clothes while Henry set up a small table and grabbed a large black bag.

"What's going on?"

"We're helping. We do this every week." Drusilla handed a nice set of clothes to Lucis and Gemma. "It was Henry's idea. He started helping people as a doctor and convinced us to do the same."

For hours, they continued on, handing out clothes and blankets, all the while the cold closed in around them. As night fell, everyone gathered around the large fire with bowls of stew.

"Tell me," Aqua's eyes studied the Petra family as they sat, a stark contrast in their fancy clothes to everyone else, "what happened?"

Tamara reached into her pocket and pulled out something that looked like a small star shard. "Terra gave this to me. We would send each other short messages to let each other know we were alright. One day, his messages stopped coming, and the light in the shard went out. I could only sit and wait. Two years… I waited for two years before I gave up. I could only assume he was gone. I felt that Archer needed to know about his son, but he didn't care. So, I told Abigail and Henry and they told him. Them one day, I found them all at my door."

"You know the saying that you don't know what you have until it's gone?" From furthest away, Archer spoke, his voice heavy, laden with the burden of sorrow. "For years, I pushed away any care for my son, but then it all came back. I remembered the joy of when he was first born… How that changed. How I pushed away the woman I married because people mocked me for marrying below my station. I pushed her away and kept Terra from her out of spite, just to prove I didn't care for her. In doing so, I hurt my son, and I can't tell him how sorry I am… b-because he's gone."

"He's not dead."

The family looked in their direction, shock written across their faces. Mickey gave them a small smile. "He's alive." Slowly, the group took turns describing the situation with Xehanort and how Terra fit into it.

"So, can he be saved?"

"We think so. Trust me," Sora grinned, "we will bring him back."

"Thank you…"

Suddenly, a scream ripped through the cold air. Everyone jumped up, running towards the river. A wooden ferry, attached to a rope, spanned the river. A lantern hung on the opposite side of the river as a signal to boats to watch out for the ferry in the night.

The body of a woman with pale blue hair(5) lay on the ferry which continued to float across the river towards the slums. Blood seeped from a large wound on her back, staining the wood and seeping into the water.

A gust of wind blew across the water, carrying with it, words. " _Look out behind you…_ "

"The signalman!" Gemma cried.

"The what?"

Theresa gripped the sword at her side. "The spectre called the signalman(6). He appears under that lantern and calls out a warning. Afterward, someone always violently dies."

"Let's move her body and bury her. "Henry took one of the thin blankets and began wrapping the body.

"What do we do?"

"Nothing," Dustan sighed, "it always vanishes after the death of a person."

Slowly, people began to pull back, going to the fire once more. All but a few. Lea hung back as he saw Xion, Roxas, and Naminé standing further away, talking quietly amongst themselves. "Hey, you guys ok?"

"Just talking."

"Is something wrong." The tall man knelt down to look them in the eye. "Come on, tell me."

Naminé clutched her sketchbook. "It's all this talk of families. Ven found his parents, this is where Aqua used to live, and those are Terra's parents. It's just the thought that we don't have parents or families like the rest of you."

Lea sat down on his haunches. "What do you call us? I'd say we're close enough to call ourselves a family of sorts, don't you think?"

"I guess," Roxas rubbed his chest, feeling his beating heart, "but we still don't have parents."

Letting out a sigh, Lea stood, rubbing the back of his head. "Do you really need parents to be happy? You have us, and we'll take care of you. Trust me."

The three looked up at him, smiling slightly. Parents or not, they felt somewhat comforted by their friend's words. They went back to the fire, and the night drug on.

* * *

In the small houses, not all of the group would fit, so they spread out, two or three to each home. Xion and Kairi shared the dirt floor of one of the homes. The black-haired girl lay with her eyes open. She didn't like to admit the nightmares she sometimes had.

Nightmares reliving her fighting Roxas or back in the tube the Organization conditioned her in. Tonight happened to be one of those nights. The talk and thought about parents didn't help her at all.

Slowly, she pushed herself up and wrapped the blanket around herself as she stepped outside. Small flakes of snow hung in the air, scattering as she walked. The river laid out before her, and while it was dangerous, she sat down on a rock alone.

A small yip startled her, but she only smiled as the Yenlow Unversed, Kyokan appeared next to her. They'd left him on the ship for the last few worlds, but she was glad he was here. She didn't feel alone.

" _The weakest link..._ " A soft voice appeared on the breeze. Xion gasped as a ghostly figure appeared under the signal lantern across the river. " _You are the weakest link, you shall die first._ " The signalman pointed in her direction, ignoring the sharp growling from Kyokan before it disappeared.

Xion shuddered, not from the cold this time. Her arms picked up the little Unversed and ran back to the hut. Dropping to the ground, the girl curled up around the Yenlow.

Sleep would not come to her that night.

* * *

Rimi sat under a rock outcropping on an island. From where she sat, she could see a pirate ship, on which familiar figures moved about. She remembered this world well. The first world she, Kaname, and Yamato first came to under Xehanort's control: Terrain of Thieves(7).

Her rabbit ears lay flat under the coat hood. Rain beat down, dripping from the rocks. She hated wearing the coat and hood, but she hated being cold and wet more.

Watching the rain come down, Rimi flashed back to the old days in Radiant Garden.

She remembered the days of sitting in the castle apartment as the rain poured outside.

Her days of childhood, spending the days in the library with Even; he would tutor her on all the different things in his books, and she would read poetry with him.

Early days of marriage when she and Kaname would cuddle on the sofa or bed with a book in hand.

Motherhood. Sitting with Kairi as she sewed with the girl in her lap.

Now, she could imagine home with Kairi, her family, and now her son. Oh, how she hoped Arata was alright…

"There you are!" The voice startled her, but the strong darkness of Xehanort, burrowing into her head, kept her from moving. Braig approached, grinning. "Come on, Princess. Let's go."

* * *

 **Please review (seriously, I want feedback!)**

 **Thank you!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This is Finnish for brutal heart.

(2) The original April Fools Day.

(3) These characters are all from Dragon Quest. Lazarel and Theresa are cousins and the main characters in "Dragon Quest Heroes II". Lucis is the unnamed protagonist of "Dragon Quest XI"; Gemma, Erik, and Dustan are from the same game. Gemma is the main character's love interest, Erik is his first companion and friend, and Dustan is Gemma's grandfather and leader of their village. Lucis is actually unnamed, but I chose the name Lucis in reference in his title as "The Luminary".

(4) Finnish for rich.

(5) This is Alya's mother.

(6) "The Signalman" is a short horror story written by Charles Dickens. In the story, a man meets a signalman who signals trains when there is danger ahead. The signalman keeps seeing a spectre that gives him warnings before a disaster strikes, the final disaster is the signalman's own death.

(7) In the original plan, I meant to have the gang return here for the ending of game 3, but I replaced it with Hazy Hamlet.

* * *

 _VAs:_

 _Tamara Petra- Dorothy Fahn (Margaret Liones, Marinette's Mom, Kyoko Yuuki, Konan)_

 _Drusilla Petra- Carrie Keranen (Alya, Gulia, Satsuki Kiryuin, Caroline, Justine)_

 _Abigail Sorge- Erica Lindbeck (Jericho, Windblade, Nori, Barbie, Anemone, Jane Foster)_

 _Archer Petra: Kaiji Tang (Hendrickson, Vegeta, Kohichi Kizakura, Schmidt, Odin)_

 _Henry Sorge: Troy Baker (Steeljaw, Loki, November 11, Yamato/Tenzo, Snow Villiers)_

* * *

 **Pearls Before Swine**

What is one thing people really seem to like to do these days?

Argue!

They will argue over every little thing. Jesus addressed this, and it is something everyone can take to heart.

Matthew 7:6 says, " _Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you._ " Lots of metaphor there…

Basically, if you know someone will not change their mind no matter what you say, don't waste your time and breath fighting with them. This could be over something biblical or over a ship in a game or show.

If they just want to fight because they want a fight, don't give them the time of day. It won't change a thing, so don't waste your time.


	37. Chapter 37: Hazy Hamlet- Puppet

**This chapter ended up being creepier than I intended… well, Happy Early Halloween.**

 **BTW, I never told you guys, the background music I picked for this world is "Ancient Stones" from Skyrim.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Dragon Quest © to Square Enix!**

 **OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 37: Hazy Hamlet- Puppet**

* * *

"We need more sand!" Riku and Roxas held up the collapsing wall of a house. Mud caked their legs all the way up to their knees. Some of the others ran over, carting buckets of dry sand to try and create some sort of stability around the wall as other people carried over rocks to finish the foundation.

From outside the village, Xion watched as she walked beside Gemma and Theresa. "Are you alright?" Gemma asked. "You seem, off."

"I just didn't sleep well last night."

"Oh, sorry."

Xion looked over and saw a family of foxes walking on the other side of the river; all the kits followed behind their mother, but one… the smallest, the weakest, trailed behind. Suddenly, a hawk swooped down and grabbed the small little baby.

"Oh no!" Gemma cried out. "Theresa!"

The purple-haired girl leapt up, pulling a knife from her belt before throwing it at the bird. The hawk dropped the little kit. Xion caught the runt. The baby fox whimpered in her arms.

Theresa sheathed her sword and sighed. "Hawks always go after the weakest one."

"The weakest…" Xion bit her lip as she snuggled the little kit. "I guess we have something in common."

"Did you say something, Xion?"

"No."

Gemma patted the little fox. "Poor little tod…"

"Tod?"

"Male foxes are called tods and females are called vixens." Theresa smiled.

The fox looked up at Xion and yipped, seemingly afraid and curious about the one who held him. "Tod… Todd… that'll be his name then(1)."

"His name?"

"I'm going to keep him." She scratched the little creature behind the ears before whispering. "We weak links need to stick together, don't we?"

The fox kit nuzzled into the warmth of the girl's arms as she sat down to try and check him over for injuries. A shadow fell over her. "Xion?" Roxas smiled. "What's that?"

"A baby fox that got attacked because it was the runt. I named him Todd."

Her eyes looked down at the animal, seeing the small claw marks on its back. They weren't deep, but they probably hurt. All this, because he was the smallest and weakest. Would she be hurt too?

"Xion," the soft hand of her friend alighted on her shoulder, "are you alright? You look distracted."

"I'm fine…"

"You sure?" The boy could see something was off, but what did he know? He was new to having a heart, so nothing could be wrong at all. "You know I'm here if you need me."

"I know."

"Roxas!" Lea's voice wafted toward them. "Your turn for patrol!"

"Coming!" With one last glance towards the girl, Roxas moved on, taking his turn to join the patrol against slavers.

* * *

Xion lay on the dirt floor, Todd on one side and Kyokan on the other. Still, nightmares plagued her…

 _She found herself standing on the edge of the clock tower once again. She knew Roxas sat beside her. She knew this memory all too well._

" _You've poured so much into me, given me so much, that I feel like I'm about to overflow." The words came out of her mouth like from a script. As she continued on, she felt her hood lying against her back and the strange feeling of her hair, no longer short and black, but just like Sora's, blowing around her face. "This is him. It's Sora."_

 _Her eyes saw the confusion on her dear friend's face and the fear as she stepped out onto nothingness. Further and further until she turned to him. "You're next, Roxas. I have to make you a part of me too. Don't you see? This is why I was created!"_

 _Her vision swirled. In the midst, she saw Roxas, fighting against her for his life. She felt her power swell and shrink as the combat progressed._

 _But where the dream ended, she did not recognize. Instead of herself lying on the ground, she saw Roxas, beginning to fade before her eyes. Internally, she screamed, but in the dream, her body would not obey her wishes, and instead, she heard herself laugh. "Goodbye, Roxas. It seems you were not as strong as I thought. Perhaps this is how things were meant to be? Perhaps you were the weakest one after all?"_

 _Xion felt her heart shattering as Roxas gave her a frightened look. He didn't want to die. She'd killed him…_

* * *

The girl sat up, gasping for air, startling the two animals beside her. The weakest one… was it her or Roxas? Was the thing… the signalman, was it going to kill Roxas? She couldn't let that happen! She had to protect him.

His face, as he died, all the fear… it haunted her eyes still. She never wanted to see that again. She would never let it happen. She would kill that _thing_ tonight!

Slowly, she stood up, looking down at the two creatures. "Kyokan, stay here with Todd." She pulled on her jacket before slipping outside. Snow decorated the ground and fluttered from the heavens. The moon seemed to carve a reflective path on the snow, towards the ferry and her enemy.

The small raft bobbed on the water, sloshing the liquid onto the small shelves of ice beginning to form. It sunk down as the girl climbed on and grabbed the rope, moving herself across the stream. As she approached the other side, the ghostly apparition appeared under the lantern once again.

As she drew closer, she saw it clearly. A creature. The skeleton of a man, dripping with rotting flesh all around its body. Its face seemed to be covered by a strange, ragged sack, with one hole where an eye should be, but only a glowing orb remained. He wore a tall hat and a ragged black coat that hung open to reveal his bones(2).

"What is that thing…?"

The creature looked in her direction before stepping towards her, slowly limping as it walked.

A hand suddenly wrapped around her, dragging her backward. "So, you're the little kit he wanted me to catch."

"What!?"

"Hello, Xion." From out of the shadows, stepped a familiar figure in black. Terranort.

"What's going on!?" The girl struggled, attempting to summon her Keyblade, but the man who held her dug his fingernails into her wrist.

Darkness wormed its way up her body, locking her in place as the man released her. He stepped around, grinning, his beady eyes looked along his long, bent nose. "You said she is the best to use against the others since she is so weak."

"You did this!" Xion cried out, her glare dancing between the two men. "You're behind the signalman!"

Terranort smirked. "I want this world destroyed It is the home of Terra after all. And this man can help destroy both rich and poor. He entertains the rich and can manipulate the poor. One might argue that a man who spends his whole life entertaining would be the greatest person to bring down a world; all he needed was the power of darkness to enrich his party favors of puppeteering and hypnotism. And you will help us. But first…" He turned on the old man beside him. "Thank you for your assistance, Punchinello(3), but I believe now it is time for me to take over."

"What do you me-?"

Darkness seeped into the man's body until he slumped over. His form changed to that of a Heartless with a wax version of his own, and his body became a mass of stripes in the form of a shirt and pants with the Heartless symbol on its pointy hat. His hands turned into strange rods like the ones used with marionettes(4). The Puppeteer Heartless cackled, sending a shiver down Xion's spine. Little strings of light shot out and attached to each limb of the signalman.

"No… HEL-!" Darkness wrapped itself around her mouth, cutting off all speech.

"Do not wake the others. You must be ready to serve us, as you were always meant to…" He stepped to the side as the Puppeteer leaned down, staring at the girl; its eyes began to swirl and Xion began to feel sleepy…

* * *

" _Roxas! Get up! Xion is in danger! You're all in danger!_ "

The boy's eyes opened at the strange voice. Was it a dream? Well, couldn't hurt to check. He stood up and went outside.

The moon shone so bright and reflected off the snow that it looked like daytime. His footsteps crunched in the snow as he walked through the slums. As he neared the river, he saw a figure standing on the opposite bank. "Xion?"

He jogged over and stopped. He looked at the girl who stood there, eyes downcast. It was Xion, but she didn't look right.

Her short hair bounced in small curls around her head. She wore a blackish-blue lolita-style dress with gray ruffles and black bows. Her eyes seemed to glow orange(5).

"Xion, is that you?"

A blast of darkness shot past his head as Terranort leapt his direction. "You've come too late, Roxas. Your friend is ours."

"What did you do to her!?"

"I have done nothing, but the Puppeteer Heartless…"

The Heartless appeared over Xion's head, cackling wickedly. Only now could he see the silvery blue strings attached to her neck, wrists, torso, and ankles. She slumped over as the Heartless hefted her across the river.

Roxas jumped away before shouting. "WAKE UP! ATTACK!"

Inside the houses, people stirred until nearly the entire slum stood outside their homes, weapons at the ready. Out of one house stepped the Petra family; their eyes meeting that of Terranort.

"Terra…?"

"Xion!" Lea gaped at his friend who dangled by the strings of the Heartless.

The Heartless loomed over the girl, his swirling eyes glinting. Sora and the others stopped in their tracks, shuddering as the thing cackled again.

"What the heck is that!?"

"I-I don't know, but we've gotta stop it!"

Terranort laughed. "The puppet has taken her rightful role with us and we shall leave her to destroy you all."

The Puppeteer cackled loudly before vanishing into darkness, leaving a floating set of rods above Xion as her controller.

Terranort moved to leave, but a hand grabbed his arm. "Terra!" His eyes moved to fix on Tamara. The woman clung to his coat as if it was her only lifeline to her son. "This isn't you. Come home, my little boy. Do not let this monster use you!"

"Ha! Do you think your feeble cries can…" the man's hand went to his head as his eyes flickered from gold to blue. "M-Mother…?"

"Yes, son. It's me."

For a moment, he looked at his mother, all the signs of Xehanort nearly gone from him. Then it ended. Gold flashed in his eyes before Terranort drew back a hand and hit Tamara, sending his mother to the ground.

"Tamara!"

"Leave her alone!" Lucis and the other protectors of the slums all stepped between her and her son.

The man in black merely shook his head. "Foolish children. You have no idea who you face."

"Maybe not," Lazarel tightened his grip on both swords, "but that does not mean we are going to sit by and just let you harm people!"

"Braver… but stupid." He launched at dark fire their way, only for Aqua to leap in front. "And you are just as foolish…" He summoned his Keyblade and lunged at his old friend.

* * *

Xion dangled at the ends of the strings, summoning her own Keyblade against her will. She slashed at her friends, flying about them. They tried their best not to hurt her. To cut the strings manipulating her, but their weapons went right through the strings.

"Xion! Snap out of it! Fight!" Lea lunged forward with his Keyblade only for the girl to hit him in the face with her Keyblade. The pyro slid backward, slamming into a building, head first.

* * *

" _Wake up!"_

 _Lea blinked, for a moment, he found himself sitting in silver grass. Two muscular arms were pulling him up to his feet. "What the…?"_

" _Listen, I don't have much time. When you wake up, you've got to help Xion." The voice was strong and urgent. "She is being hypnotized, held captive by a lie that is the center of that hypnotic state: the lie that she is the weakest in your group. You and Roxas have to snap her out of it. Now, get moving!" He suddenly gave Lea a strong push forward._

* * *

Lea sat up, blinking rapidly in his confusion. His eyes alighted on Xion, who now attempted to impale Kairi. The words of whoever that was, came back. "Roxas! Get over here!"

"Coming." He ran over, helping his older friend up. "What is it?"

"Don't ask me how I know, but I just do… Xi is hypnotized, and the center of that is a lie saying she's the weakest out of us. We've gotta get through to her."

"Got it!" The two lunged forward, dodging the attacks from their dear friend. As they got close, they wrapped their arms around Xion. Her eyes, faded, ringed in gold, seemed to widen slightly.

"Xion, wake up."

"Listen to me," Roxas pressed his forehead against hers, even as she struggled to throw her two friends off, "You're not the weakest in the group. You're the strongest person I know! I promise…" He held her close. "Sleep…" He cast the spell, causing her to go even limper.

Lea held his hand upwards, towards the wooden object pulling her strings. A blast of fire went up, engulfing the thing as it began to melt away. As it disintegrated into smoke, a strange voice wafted upwards with the smoke.

" _You are the weakest link…_ "

The strings evaporated from Xion and, in a soft cloud of darkness, the doll outfit on her fell off to reveal her old look.

* * *

Aqua blocked the barrage of attacks from Terranort. Behind her, Tamara got to her feet. "Terra! Stop!" The mother sobbed as she stared at her son. "Son, please! Come back to us!"

"Silence, woman!" The silver-haired man leapt to the side, launching a dark flame in the direction of his mother.

"No!"

Aqua moved to intercept the spell, but it passed her by. Tamara screamed, but the blast never came. The flames exploded across the back of the man who'd stepped in front of her.

"Archer!"

Terra's father gasped as the fire singed his back. He fell to his knees, crying out as the pain spread across his back. Drusilla and Abigail caught him as he fell forward. Henry ran into action, assessing the injury as best and as quickly as he could.

"Father…" Aqua stared at Terranort as he clutched his head. His eyes flickered between blue and gold as he beheld his injured family. "No… you will not escape!" A dark corridor opened up behind him as he stumbled back, vanishing into the darkness.

* * *

"Your back will heal up in a day or two." Donald lowered his staff, smiling at Archer.

"Thank you… at least I know my son is still alive in there."

Aqua's hand moved to her heart. Terra was still fighting. The sight of his family… they brought him out. There was still hope.

Further away, Xion sat by the river, staring across at where the signalman, or what was really a Draugr Heartless, had been.

"You ok, Xi?"

"It was so dark. He was in my head, making me do things I didn't want to, all because of those words… How did I let him get to me with that stupid lie…?" The girl sighed as Roxas and Lea sat down beside her.

Another voice spoke from the hood of Lea's coat. "It due to your past." Jiminy pulled himself up and jumped onto the girl's lap.

"But we had that talk and everything…"

"That doesn't mean the pain will all go away at once." The cricket adjusted his hat as he spoke, smiling softly at the girl. "The pain is still there, and it will take work to overcome it. It might never fully go away. Some wounds are just too deep. You were lied to. Told that you were nothing but a puppet. How deep those words lie in your heart, I can't say, but that's why we shared our worries that night. You're not alone. When you feel those old hurts coming up and those lies enter your mind, come to us. That's what we're here for. Right boys?"

Lea's hand plopped onto the girl's hair, ruffling it slightly. "That's right. We're here for you."

"Yeah," Roxas took her hand, "if you ever need to talk, I'm ready to listen. I may not know much about the heart yet, but if my friend is hurting, I'll do what I can to fix it. Promise."

So much love. Xion felt her cheeks grow red from all the attention and tears fill her eyes from all the love she felt, even from the tiny cricket standing on her knee.

It felt… wonderful.

* * *

The boy stood in a grove of trees, watching Sora and the others mingle about.

He longed to run to them.

To tell them who he was.

To be safe.

But…

He couldn't. What would they do? What would they say? Would they believe him?

His eyes drifted to Kairi. Maybe she'd believe him. But, what if she didn't?

Then he saw… her. She would believe him. But, he'd have to explain it all to her first. Which meant he'd have to get her all alone, away from the others. That was what he had to do.

… Right?

* * *

"You'll come back soon, right?"

"Of course, and we'll come back with Terra!"

Gemma petted the tiny fox in her arms. "Sure you don't want to take Todd with you, Xion?"

"I might come back for him, but I think he'd be happier here." She smiled.

The others all talked, but Naminé stood in the back, sketchbook in hand. She worked quickly to capture the happy parting before her on paper.

"Miss." Looking down, she saw a small boy. "Someone wants to see you." His hand pointed between two houses.

She smiled and patted his head. "Thank you for letting me know." Perhaps it was one of the children she'd drawn for. Many of the children were shy, so they probably wouldn't want to be around a large crowd.

As she walked past a building, two hands grabbed her. One around the chest and arms, the other around the mouth. She struggled, trying to get her Keyblade to her. But the soft pull of a Sleep spell enveloped her as she heard a dark corridor open and soon felt the cold darkness envelop her.

* * *

When Naminé awoke, she found herself on a high platform, inside a building. She blinked at the mostly metal walls and the room full of shipping containers. Behind her sat a small window, but when she looked out…

"Twilight Town!? H-how did I get here?"

"I'm sorry," came a gentle male voice, "I just wanted to talk to you alone. I didn't really know what else to do." A young figure stood in the shadowy opposite corner of the raised landing they both stood upon.

The girl looked at him. "Talk to me? But the others…?"

"I left them a note. They'll be coming here in not too long. I told them the truth, that I wouldn't hurt you and all I wanted to do was talk. I just didn't think they would want to listen to me. But you would… so I had to get you alone, to explain things first…" As he spoke, he moved slightly, drawing nearer.

Soon, Naminé could see him. A boy of about 15 with amber-golden eyes and auburn hair. He wore a gray jacket over a navy blue shirt, black and white gloves, green jeans, and navy blue hiking boots.

She stared at him.

He seemed so… familiar. Something about him. She'd seen him before, she knew it. And his voice, it was so familiar. The eyes he bore screamed Xehanort's influence in him, but he seemed to be of his own mind right at that moment. Her eyes narrowed on his face. She just couldn't place-.

Wait!

It couldn't be…

"R-Repliku?"

"That's not my name!" He snapped, shoving his hands in his pockets as he looked down. "Not anymore."

"What's your name then?"

His golden eyes lifted up, glancing out the window before they met her own. "My name… is Arata."

* * *

 **I'm just gonna… go.**

 ***proceeds to moonwalk out, proud of my plot twist***

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) "Fox and the Hound" anyone?

(2) This appearance is based on Jack the Ripper from the "Assassin's Creed: Syndicate" DLC.

(3) Punchinello is the name of a famous puppet that first appeared in the days of Charles II.

(4) Think like a super creepy puppet.

(5) This look is based on the Mysterious Onyx, the Doll Heartless from the Toy Story world in the actual KH3 game.

* * *

 _VAs:_

 _Punchinello Pluto: Robert Englund (Felix Faust, The Riddler, Vulture, Scarecrow)_

 _Mysterious voice: Roger Craig Smith (Sonic the Hedgehog, Deidara, Kylo Ren)_

* * *

 **Drowning**

Have you ever felt like you were drowning? Figuratively, not actually drowning in water. Drowning in work, stress, etc. I know I do… Sometimes we wonder why God would give us things that make us feel like we're drowning?

Many times we're told that God won't give us something we can't handle, then we get into a situation that, well, we can't handle. The thing is, he won't give us something we can't handle without him. We can't handle some things, but with his help, we can.

One such example is in Mark 4:34-41:

" _ **35**_ _On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side."_ _ **36**_ _And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him._ _ **37**_ _And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling._ _ **38**_ _But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"_ _ **39**_ _And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm._ _ **40**_ _He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?"_ _ **41**_ _And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?_ "

Sometimes, we reach the end of our rope and all we can do is cry for help, and we can know that he will help us when we feel like drowning.


	38. Chapter 38: Arata's Feelings

**I really have to thank Yamichaos27 for a good chunk of this chapter. He wrote one scene and I asked if he could do more, and he did. Unknowingly helping me flesh out Arata's story. He didn't even know about Arata coming into the story. That being said, I have altered the scenes slightly, accounting for Arata.**

 **Thanks, dude! You're awesome!**

 **Honestly, this chapter is big due to these scenes. But that's ok!**

 **Thanks, valkyrie from the SoKai discord for the Repliku themes: "Home Sweet Home" and "Promto's Feelings" from FF15. They are also the themes of the chapter, so check them out while you read. The chapter is named for the second song which goes with the flashback scenes.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Yamato and Sasuke © to Yamichaos27!**

 **Other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 38: Arata's Feelings**

* * *

"Arata?" Naminé blinked before smiling. "I like it. It suits you. But, why did you want to talk to me alone? I would've spoken up for you."

He lowered his head in shame. "I was scared…"

Naminé looked at the boy. He genuinely looked not only sorry but scared. The door to the building opened below them; the girl smiled as Sora and the others came inside. Holding out a hand, the former Repliku helped her stand and they walked down to the main floor together.

"Nami!" Ven ran over, wrapping her in a tight hug. "We were worried!"

"There was no need to be. I was in safe hands."

Arata stood back, wringing his hands as everyone looked his way. Riku spoke up first. "Wait… Repliku?"

"That's not my…!" The boy bit his lip at his sharp tone. "Sorry, but that's not my name anymore. It's Arata. And look, I'm sorry about taking Naminé. I was scared and didn't know what to do. I didn't think you'd all believe me if I just showed up, so I thought if I could talk to her first…"

"Talk about what?" Kairi stepped over towards him.

Arata stopped, looking at her with a smile. "Kairi… I was told to find you." He let out a soft sigh. "My parents… or the couple who wants to adopt me, they gave me my name. They told me to find you, Kairi."

"Who did?"

"My full name, that they gave me, is Arata Hachirou Mae."

"Mae!?"

The boy nodded. "Your… our parents are wonderful. They showed me that I was more than just a copy of Riku. They gave me a name, called me their son… and when they helped me escape, they said to find my sister." As he spoke, he kept his eyes looking downward, afraid of the looks he might get.

But when he looked up, he saw Kairi standing in front of him, eyes wet with tears. "That sounds just like something they'd do." Breathing out a soft laugh, she grabbed his hands. "I have a brother now… Arata." She pulled him close, into a tight hug.

"Thank you… Sis." He hugged her back but pulled away a moment later. "I hate to ask, but I need your help. Xehanort still has a hold on me; I was hoping maybe Naminé might be able to get rid of the chains linking his heart to my own. That way, I don't have to worry about him taking control again."

"Of course!" Mickey came over, smiling. "If we can help in any way."

"Really? All of you?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, I mean… in some ways, we're not that different, especially you and Xion." Arata looked over at Xion who nodded, making him smile.

Naminé nodded. "I'd be happy to help. I don't know if I can fully separate him from your heart, but I will try."

"Thank you!"

Sora looked around. "Well, we better give them some space. Xehanort is probably looking for Arata, so we should spread out and keep an eye out. If they show up, we'll protect you."

"Thanks…"

Naminé sat down, pulling out her sketch pad. "Arata, if you're ready. I can start now."

"Alright." He sat down and closed his eyes.

* * *

 _Naminé knew so much of Arata's memories. She'd created half of them._

 _The fake island life._

 _The time in Castle Oblivion._

 _Dying to Riku._

 _In his heart, she could almost see the dark mass of Xehanort, clinging to the most painful memories of this time, using them as an anchor to his control._

 _It hurt her heart when she saw the memories. Memories of finding out all was a lie and that's she'd done this to him. Memories of reading Vexen's notes and seeing the truth. The memory of dying alone lost to the darkness._

 _She could see the chains of memories that Xehanort made by attaching his heart to Arata's. She could undo those links without damaging Arata's heart._

 _Hopefully._

 _Slowly, she began to work._

* * *

Jiminy hopped over beside Naminé and Arata. "I'll stay here with them."

"Good." Riku looked around. "Xehanort isn't going to just let him leave. We should make a perimeter and patrol the area, but we can't look too suspicious or draw attention to the building."

Sora nodded. "Kairi, you and I can stay. Be the last line of defense between them and your brother."

"Yeah."

"Let's move!"

* * *

 _Undoing the chains from the past memories… child's play._

 _But as Naminé followed the chains deeper into Arata's heart, she found memories she did not know. It might have been wrong to spy, but she felt like she should see them._

 _Repliku's awakening at the hands of Xehanort. The lies the old man used…_

 _And then, a memory she stepped into. She just had to see it…_

 _In it, Repliku stood to the side of a cell in the Soundless Prison, watching as three figures walked into the cell. Kaname, Rimi, and Yamato. Xehanort, his younger self, and Terranort all stood outside the cell. Waiting._

 _The three clutched their heads as darkness seemed to partially melt off(1). Kaname was the first to speak. "What the… Rimi? Master? I-Is this…?"_

" _Kaname?"_

" _Godfather?" Rimi gasped slightly, but she didn't seem surprised to see Yamato. "Where are we?"_

 _Kaname looked around. "Not somewhere good." As he looked back at his wife and master, he gave a start. "Wait! Your eyes… th-they're gold!"_

" _Yours too!"_

" _What's going on?"_

" _I believe I can answer that." Young Xehanort spoke up, stepping into view as the other two stayed just out of sight, smirking cruelly at their confusion._

 _Kaname stepped between the young man and his wife. "What is the meaning of this!? Who are you?"_

 _I am a version of someone you know, from a distant past."_

" _Who?"_

 _Now, Terranort stepped into view. "That would be me."_

" _Xehanort!" Kaname snarled. "You traitorous worm! What did you do to us?"_

" _Why we merely brought you back from the dead, that's all. Oh and we've also infused each of you with a piece of the original me's heart." The silver-haired man chuckled slightly._

 _Yamato looked at the young man, obviously confused as to who Xehanort was, but he had bigger concerns than the identity of the speaker. "Infused with pieces of your heart? Is that even possible?"_

" _And what do mean by original you?"_

" _As I told when we fought, Kaname, this body technically belongs to a Keyblade wielder named Terra. And this time I only have part of Xehanort's heart in me. Braig has come to calling me Terranort. But if you wish to meet the grand architect…"_

" _I'd be more than happy to oblige." Xehanort himself stepped forward, fixing the three with his amused gaze._

 _Kaname clenched his fist with a growl. "So you're the real Xehanort?"_

" _Correct." Stepping closer, the old man smirked. "And we are going to make good use of you three."_

" _What do you intend to do to us?" Rimi clutched at her husband's arm._

 _The old master straightened up some, narrowing his eyes. "As of today, you three are now my puppets, filling the seats of my Thirteen Seekers of Darkness. And you will be helping us clash with the Seven Guardians of Light to forge the legendary ?-blade and in turn claim Kingdom Hearts."_

 _Yamato scratched his head, clearly getting more confused by the moment. "?-blade? Kingdom Hearts?"_

 _Kaname however, followed perfectly. "You must be insane to think we'd go along with that!"_

" _You have no choice, unfortunately. You see, with you having fragments of my heart and bound to us by the means we used to resurrect you, we can control you whenever we please. The three of you are nothing but lingering spirits bound to serve me now." Xehanort held out his hand. In a swirl of darkness, Kaname's blade, Dawn's Might appeared. Tossing the sword into the cell, the old man turned away. "From now on, Kaname, you'll be using that sword for my purposes whether you like it or not. I would've preferred to have you in this Organization willingly, but beggars can't be choosers, I suppose."_

 _Terranort grinned. "You know I have to say, Kaname, when I became the apprentice to Lord Ansem the Wise, I thought you had so much potential. I really believed you would've been useful to us. But your strong will and petty devotion to your family was a problem, and my attempts to break you proved fruitless."_

" _Attempts to break him!?" Yamato stiffened. He didn't have to understand the situation to understand those words. "What were you doing to MY student!?"_

" _Well, for one I pretended to try and court his wife. It proved ineffective but it was a decent distraction for Braig's attempts to get to him… through his daughter."_

" _What!?" Kaname and Rimi both gasped, their eyes narrowing in anger._

 _Terranort shrugged, not at all concerned by their anger. "I instructed him to try and capture little Kairi by whatever means necessary. Such as hiring the Insurgos to kidnap her, or setting off a rockslide and make you believe she was dead. Obviously, neither attempt went as planned."_

 _Kaname slammed his fists into the cell bars. "You son of a-!"_

" _Blame Braig for not thinking his plans through." The former apprentice huffed. "I was the one who had to try and salvage his rockslide plan by blocking you from sensing your daughter's light. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, we were unable to break you. And with your superb instincts and strength, you were more of a threat to me than a potential asset. So I personally saw to it that you and your wife were out of the picture before pursuing your daughter."_

" _No! What did you do to her!?"_

 _Xehanort's brow creased, annoyed at the memories of Kairi slipping through his fingers. "Relax. Somehow that girl always manages to slip from our grasp. Though if you prove uncooperative we may need to resort to drastic measures. Anyway, as soon as we found the means to recall your spirits, we decided that the both of you could still yet prove useful to us even in death. Also, after hearing about the prowess of Radiant Garden's most famous hero, we thought it'd be a waste not to bring in the great Yamato Kazekiri as well."_

 _Yamato grit his teeth. "I only just met you and already you disgust me, you old fossil."_

" _Say what you will." Smirking, Young Xehanort waved a hand dismissively. "Your fates have already been decided."_

" _You three will be spending your time in this cell with your powers sealed until you are needed. Might as well get comfortable."_

 _Kaname clenched his fist, banging once more on the cell bars. "You won't get away with this, Xehanort!"_

" _Says the man I personally cut open!" Terranort laughed._

" _And don't even think about trying to escape by offing yourselves. We've already taken precautions to ensure you couldn't even if you wanted to. Oh, and Yamato, since your sword is currently in someone else's possession we will need you to forge a different sword for you to use. We'll be sending Braig down with the tools you'll need."_

 _The three Xehanorts left, leaving Repliku and the three prisoners alone. For some time, the boy stood by, watching as the three continued to talk. Kaname and Rimi catching Yamato up on everything._

 _Then, Rimi looked out, meeting the eyes of Repliku. "Oh, hello." She stood up and walked to the cell bars. "Who are you?"_

" _I'm Repliku. It's my job to guard you and make sure you don't escape."_

" _Oh really?" Yamato and Kaname came to the bars too. "But, you're just a kid. Why would Xehanort have you on his side?"_

" _None of your concern." Repliku looked away._

 _Kaname, however, wasn't keen to end the conversation. "Repliku… that's an interesting name. Does it mean anything particular?"_

 _The boy didn't answer._

…

 _Naminé shattered another chain linking Arata to Xehanort._

* * *

"We've found him."

Xehanort looked up from the ancient text in his hand. "Good. Where is he?"

"The replica is in Twilight Town," Braig spoke up. "He's made contact with Sora and them, just as Kaname and Rimi wanted him to."

The old man closed the book. "I feel my control on him slipping. This cannot be allowed. Find the replica, and kill him."

"Yes, sir."

Xehanort watched his men leave. Soon all would fall into place, but if that replica ruined it… He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object. He couldn't fail now.

His hand closed on the object as his younger self came into the room. "What is it?"

"Nearly all the preparations are complete."

"Good, as soon as they are ready, set the plan into motion."

"Yes…"

Xehanort walked, the object still in his hand. As he reached the Soundless Prison, he put it away. He saw Yamato leaning on the bars, watching Kaname and Rimi quietly converse. The dark-haired man saw him. "What do you want?"

"I have come to inform you that we have located the replica… or as you call him, Arata." This caught their attention. The couple in the back stood up, stiffly awaiting the rest of the news. "I feel Sora and his friends trying to free him from my control. I know you wanted this, so be aware, because of what you told the boy to do, I have ordered the others to kill him."

"What!?"

"He's just a boy!"

"He is mine. An experiment who wandered from his cage thanks to the lies you put in his head. Know this, when he dies, it will be on the three of you…"

* * *

 _Another memory, this time, it seemed to take place after their first meeting on Terrain of Thieves. Again, Naminé stepped into the memory without hesitation…_

 _Repliku stepped back into the Soundless Prison, letting out the three he'd brought with him. Xehanort's total control faded from the boy just as it did from the three in the cell._

 _After the three checking one another over for injuries, Rimi sighed and leaned against her husband. "I kinda wish you hadn't protected me back there. Death would've been better than being forced to work for Xehanort."_

 _Her husband wrapped his arms around her. "Old habits die hard I guess."_

" _Still, those Keyblade wielders are quite strong." Yamato sat down, polishing the edge of his new sword, Fated Eclipse._

 _Kaname nodded "Indeed. It's good to know that King Mickey hasn't lost his edge. And I sensed that silver-haired boy was capable of wielding both light and darkness, much like Dawn's Might."_

" _But did you see that woman?" Rimi sighed "Even though she had that animal form, she looked just like what Kairi described the Keyblade wielder who rescued her. Aqua."_

" _Yes, I know. She even had the same Keyblade we found when Xehanort arrived." Kaname helped his exhausted wife sit down. "Looks like Mickey finally found her, and she got back her belongings. I wish we had the opportunity to thank her."_

 _Yamato looked up from his polishing. "Personally, I'm more interested in that spiky haired boy I clashed swords with. He's definitely got some hidden strength for someone who doesn't look like much."_

" _Indeed. You know, I had this odd feeling surrounding that boy. I haven't been able to put my finger on it yet, but my instincts have never failed me before. Well, except that one time Xehanort blocked my senses and making me think Kairi died in the rockslide, but that doesn't count." The young man grinned brightly._

 _His wife giggled. "Do worry I don't count it."_

" _Whatever the case, I suppose we can only hope that those Keyblade wielders are up to the task of putting us out of our misery."_

 _Kaname let out a sigh. "Way to ruin the mood, Master. I was trying to lighten the atmosphere a bit."_

" _My bad." The older man chuckled slightly. "But, speaking of that silver-haired boy you mentioned," he turned around, "he looked a lot like you, Repliku."_

" _Riku."_

 _Rimi cocked her head. "Is that his name? Oh… I think I understand. Xemnas called you a replica, and you look like Riku. Are you a replica of him?" The boy nodded. "So, that's where the name Repliku comes from."_

" _Why do you care?" The boy huffed._

 _Kaname walked over to the bars. "Because that's the kind of people we are. We care about others. So, care to tell us your life story?"_

 _Repliku didn't seem to happy about this idea, but sitting in silence was no fun either. So, he began to talk, telling them the sad tale of his life. The three adults didn't answer but just listened._

 _When he finished, tears pooled in his eyes. "There. Happy now?"_

" _Oh, you poor thing." Rimi sniffled slightly. "Is that why you're here. Xehanort promised to make you unique?"_

" _Something like that. I mean, I'm just a replica…"_

" _That's a fat load of bullcrap." Kaname huffed. "Just a replica my foot. Just because you were made in a lab and made to look like someone doesn't mean a thing. You're still you. Your heart and mind are your own."_

" _You don't know me, Mae!"_

 _Yamato breathed out a laugh. "I think we do. You're a kid who's spent his entire life fighting, and who has no one who cares or loves him. J-just like I was a kid who spent my entire life fighting… no one alive to love me."_

" _And I had to fight to survive my father's wrath every day. My own father, who should have loved me, never cared." Kaname knelt down, looking into Repliku's eyes. "We do know you, because, in some ways, we are you."_

 _..._

 _Again, Repliku didn't answer, but Naminé could see his eyes tearing up. Silently, she stepped back and broke off another chain._

* * *

"Any sign of him?" Ansem sighed.

Sasuke shook his head. "Their son might have gone to a different world. We've looked everywhere."

Dilan nodded. "Have you contacted Sora?"

"Not yet," Ansem shook his head. "I wanted to be certain if the boy was here or not before telling them. I'll try and contact them."

Sasuke nodded.

However, his heart ached. Something felt wrong, and it had something to do with this boy… that he was certain of.

Something was wrong.

Very, wrong…

* * *

 _Naminé moved past memories of more conversations between the three prisoners and Repliku, but then came to one._

 _The one after Kaname, Rimi, and Yamato attacked Radiant Garden(2)._

 _This time, Repliku came in after the fact._

 _He came in to hear Rimi crying. "We've missed… so much of her life. Where has she been? Who's been taking care of her? What kind of life has she been living?! I… I…"_

" _I know, dear, I know." Kaname and Rimi hugged one another, both sobbing._

 _Yamato leaned against the wall, forehead resting on his arm. He too looked about ready to burst into tears. "I can't believe we attacked our own home. Lord Ansem was right there. Fighting against the kingdom and the ruler I had sworn to protect just doesn't sit well with me. And Sasuke… You think you missed a lot of Kairi's life? I missed my son's whole life. About twenty-seven years if I'm not mistaken. I die before I even get to see him born, then I get resurrected just to find out he's already all grown up, wearing the captain's uniform, and wielding my Moon Cutter." His voice choked out the words, as he tried not to burst into tears. "I would've thought it was like looking at a mirror if it wasn't for his lack of facial hair, his scar being different from mine, and… the fact that he has his mother's eyes. And now I have to fight the son I never got to meet."_

 _Rimi looked up at her husband, still sobbing. "Kaname… What are we gonna do?! I… I don't wanna fight our own daughter!"_

" _I don't know, Rimi. I don't want to do it either." His entire body shook as tears streamed down his face. "This whole situation is just fate playing a sick joke, isn't it?"_

 _Repliku quietly warped into the cell with them(3). Braig had gushed since his return about these three having to fight their loved ones and destroy their home. But the boy, he'd spent so much time down here… he felt sorry for them._

" _Hey," his words came out quiet and timid. "I'm sorry about what happened. You shouldn't have to suffer like this. You're good people."_

" _Thank you, Repliku."_

 _The boy slowly wrung his hands. "It's not fair that you have to hurt the people you care about. They're your family; they love you and you love them… but what do I know? I don't even have a family. I'm nothing but a copy."_

" _What have we said about that?" Kaname wiped away his own tears. "Its a pack of lies. You're more than just a replica. You only stay a copy by choice. You continue to view yourself as nothing but a replica, and that's all you'll ever be."_

 _Repliku looked up at him. "You've said that before… but what else can I be?"_

" _Whatever and whoever you want."_

" _I don't even know what I want…" He sat down against the cell wall._

 _As he sat there, he heard soft footsteps approaching before Rimi knelt beside him and pulled the boy into a hug. "You poor boy…"_

" _Wh-why? You have your own problems, why are you spending time on me?"_

 _Rimi lightly laughed. "Because that's who I am. I'm a mother, and I can't just sit by when a child needs help and comfort."_

" _A mother… I've never had one before." He relaxed, leaning against her. When he looked up, he heard Kaname whispering to his wife. The two knelt beside Repliku, quietly speaking to each other. As close as he was, he still couldn't make out what they were saying._

 _The couple smiled and nodded to one another. "Repliku," Kaname laid a hand on his head, "would you like to have parents?"_

" _I-I mean… yes, but I wasn't born, so I can't have any."_

" _We can be your parents." Rimi's hand touched Repliku's face, softly. "If you want…"_

" _What!?"_

 _Kaname nodded. "I know, this is a lot to just spring on you, but think about it."_

 _The boy stared at them. Naminé could see the conflict written on his features. She smiled at the kindness of Kaname and Rimi; despite their own pain at fighting the ones they loved, they still opened their hearts to a hurting child who needed them._

 _Stepping out of the memory, another chain broke._

* * *

Riku leapt back as a Sniper Nobody fired in his direction. "Knew it wouldn't take them long to find us…"

He saw Sorcerer Nobodies as well. Across the perimeter around the building, the things attacked the group. However, no one saw one of the thirteen present.

He knew everyone was watching, but not seeing any of Xehanort's men was concerning. Hopefully, they would stay away until Naminé had finished helping Arata. It was all they could hope for.

As he knocked away another Nobody, the young man hoped she was close to finishing.

* * *

 _Uneventful memory after another, with chains connecting to a few. Naminé just plugged on, breaking the chains._

 _Then she saw herself. Oh yes, when Braig tried to kill Roxas and when she and Xion both got Keyblades. This was a memory she wanted to see…_

 _Braig groaned as the cell slammed shut and Kaname and Rimi regained their own minds. "You two just had to be a nuisance today, didn't you? We could've claimed two valuable assets and eliminated a potential threat had you not interfered."_

 _Rimi stormed toward the bars, not at all afraid of the freeshooter. "Well excuse me for not wanting to allow the death of an innocent child!"_

 _"I knew it was a bad idea to allow you some semblance of free will."_

 _"Why are you siding with him, Braig?" Kaname crossed his arms, giving the same look he used to give the one-eyed man when he would disobey during his time in the guard. "How can you so callously attempt murder?"_

 _Braig seemed even more annoyed than before at that look. "Why? Because I can, that's why! As long as we don't need them, I see no problem disposing of them."_

" _You betrayed your own kingdom!"_

" _You're a disgrace to the royal guard! Have you not understood the guard code?"_

 _Braig gagged at that. "Oh don't bore me with all your goody-two-shoes nonsense. I didn't sign up for the guard for that 'protect the innocent' junk. As if! I signed up for power. I wanted to be a conqueror. I wanted the thrill of the fight! But I wasn't getting any of that because of Ansem's stupid peacekeeping ways! Protecting? Pfft! So boring and unfulfilling! Honestly, I would've preferred the ruthless Hanako's rule over the merciful Ansem's. There's no place for softies in a world where winning is all that matters. Xehanort offered me power and the freedom do as I please. How can I not take him up on that offer?"_

 _Yamato shook his head. "Hayato(4) was always worried about that attitude of yours. I never thought it would go this far."_

 _"Hah! That old timer can choke for all I care! All that stupidity about protecting is was what got him crippled. It's what got all three of you killed. What good are 'precious people' if they only hold you down?"_

 _Yamato crossed his arms, closing his eyes. "Someone as selfish as you…"_

 _"...would never understand!" Kaname mirrored his master's movements subconsciously._

 _"Cut from the same cloth... the bunch of you... including that successor of yours!" Throwing up his hands, Braig groaned. "All his stubborn nonsense about 'having someone to protect makes you stronger'. What a load of hogwash! I swear I don't know how that Sasuke brat manages to survive every time I try to have him killed!"_

 _Yamato let out a deep chuckle. "That just shows how strong our legacy lives on. There is no doubt in my mind that my son is capable of surpassing the both of us."_

 _"And I'm confident that our legacy will continue to be passed down from generation to generation."_

 _"Yeah? Well, we'll see about that!" Braig turned to Repliku who stood nearby, watching the entire conversation. "And you… You were willing to let them go in exchange for the witch?"_

 _The boy backed up. "I-I…"_

 _Before he could run, Braig grabbed his coat collar and backhanded the child. "Learn your place, you brat!_

" _Leave him alone!" Rimi gripped the bars. "He's just a child!"_

" _Why do you care? He's your warden."_

 _Kaname slowly walked to the bars. "Becuase, when we get out of this, and we will. That boy comes with us. We're going to give him the life he deserves. A home and a family." He held out a hand. "Right, son?"_

 _Repliku gasped lightly. All this time, he wondered if it was a joke. He wanted a family like they'd asked, but it just seemed unreal. Like a joke, they were playing on him. But now…_

 _The boy jerked away from Braig and ran towards Kaname, warping into the cell and into the man's arms. Kaname pulled the child close._

" _Seriously? You got roped into their lies?"_

" _You're the liar!" Rimi cried, softly stroking Repliku's hair. "Telling this poor child he was nothing more than a replica. He's so much more."_

" _Ugh, I could just gag…" Braig crossed his arms. "Well, if it's going to be like that." He held out a hand. Repliku suddenly gasped as darkness surrounded him. "You're going to be stuck in that cell now too. Have fun, brat! And we'll see what the old man thinks about this."_

 _He warped away, leaving them all alone. Repliku buried his face into Kaname's chest. "I want a family. I don't want to be alone anymore. I don't want to be hurt anymore. I don't want to just be a replica anymore."_

" _Come here, sweetheart." Rimi pulled him close. "That's why we offered. We want you to be happy too. You can have a mother and father now. When Sora wins, and he will, we will take you home. You can meet your sister and great uncle."_

" _That means you have quite an annoying father," Yamato smirked._

" _Hey!" Kaname turned to his master. "If you're going to be like that… you're Rimi's Godfather, so that would kinda make you his Grandfa-"_

" _Finish that sentence and I will dropkick you."_

 _The three adults all laughed, much to the boy's confusion. "How do you do it?"_

" _Do what?"_

" _Be so happy all the time."_

 _Kaname patted his head. "We have faith and hope."_

" _Faith and hope…"_

" _You know," Yamato smiled, "if you're taking him in, I think he needs a new name. After all, he isn't a replica, so Repliku doesn't fit."_

 _Kaname stroked his chin before snapping his fingers with a grin. "I've got it! Arata!"_

" _Arata?"_

" _It means 'fresh and new', and this is a fresh new start for you." He grinned. "Arata Hachirou Mae. How does it sound?"_

" _I love it!"_

…

 _Naminé smiled at the warmth in the memory. She broke off the chain and continued on._

 _Not much further now._

* * *

Heartless began appearing inside the warehouse, scouting about for their target. A shadow began creeping into the open, only for a flowery Keyblade to smack it to pieces. "Back off!"

"Nice job, Kai!" Sora drove his Keyblade into a Neoshadow. "I hope Nami is almost done…" He glanced back.

Jiminy sat on the girl's knee. Her eyes were open as she drew in her sketchbook, but she almost seemed to be in a trance. The cricket watched her work, eyes on the sketchbook. His expression would shift from confusion to understanding quite often, and other times a smile would appear.

The memory she must've drawn must've been a good one.

They'd sat like that for nearly forty-five minutes. Outside, Sora and Kairi could hear the others fighting, but they stayed put, just in case.

Suddenly, more Heartless appeared. "Well, crap."

"Come on, Nami… we need you to hurry."

* * *

 _Almost there! One more chain connected to one last memory. Just one more._

 _Naminé hurried, leaping into the memory, one that seemed to have happened after Kairi nearly freed them on the ship on Imperial Mainland…_

 _"So close!" Kaname pounded on the wall. "We were so close(5)."_

 _"I almost held her in my arms again…" Rimi clenched her fists._

 _Repliku… or now_ Arata, _laid his hand on hers. "Don't worry, it'll be ok, Mom."_

 _"Thank you, Arata…"_

 _Yamato crossed his arms. "I don't know what your daughter did, but I'm certain it has something to do with her being a… what did you call it? A Princess of Heart?"_

 _"That's right." Kaname nodded. "And I agree. That has to be the source of whatever light power, thing, she did."_

 _"She will not get that close to freeing you again." Out of a dark portal, Xehanort, followed by Xemnas, exited into the cell with them. Arata clung to Rimi as the old man fixed him with his golden eyes. "Still taken by their charms are you, replica."_

 _"My name is Arata!"_

 _Xemnas rolled his eyes. "You are nothing more than a puppet, no matter what lies they tell you."_

 _Xehanort slowly approached the four. "Now, I'm certain you know of my plans… you've heard about them."_

 _"The invasion…" Yamato narrowed his eyes. "Using three giant Heartless to invade three different worlds."_

 _"Indeed," the old man walked over to Yamato, who stood near the back wall, arms crossed. He spoke quietly to the former captain, who listened in silence… until the end._

 _"What!? You're insane! If you think we're going to help you destroy a peaceful village for a Heartless you can forget it."_

 _"I control you,_ remember, _" Xehanort smirked. Defiant as always. "But as an added measure… I've noticed the three of you holding onto your own wills despite my control. This cannot be allowed. So, even if you somewhat have your own wills, you will still follow me."_

 _Rimi put her hands on her hips, looking like she was scolding a child. "And what makes you think we'd ever do that?"_

 _The old man held up his hand. Dark chains rose up, wrapping around the three adults as Xemnas warped over, grabbing Arata by the hair. "You seem to care for this little nothing, so I will make you a proposition. Obey me, even if your_ wills _come out through my control, or I will torture this boy until he begs for death."_

 _"Mom! Dad! Yamato!" Arata screamed as Xemnas jerked his hair._

 _"Stop it!"_

 _"Leave our son alone!"_

 _"He's just a boy!"_

 _Naminé could only watch as Xemnas dragged Arata to a cell further down and threw him inside. He could not see his parents, but he could hear their cries, telling him that everything would be alright._

 _..._

 _Naminé stepped out, breaking that final chain. She glanced over, seeing the glimpses of a memory where Kaname freed Arata and the boy escaped._

 _She was done._

* * *

Braig stood on a far building, away from all the fighting. He knew the heroes were guarding something, but what? Glancing through his scope, he looked in all the buildings.

There!

Through a dirty warehouse window, he saw Naminé and the replica. The boy seemed to be sitting up, shaking his head. Even from a distance, Braig could see his blue eyes, as the boy faced him.

So, the witch did it.

Too bad for them.

He aimed, planting the crosshairs right between the replica's eyes. But… what would be better? Him dying or watching someone he care for die?

Slowly, he adjusted his aim, the crosshairs moving to the back of Naminé's head.

"Goodbye."

He fired…

…

…

…

"NOOOO!"

* * *

 **Ok, that was an uncalled-for cliffhanger and I'm aware of that…**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This is the first of the scenes from Yami!

(2) This scene was changed quite a bit.

(3) I roleplayed part of this with my friend Blackheart, and some of what is to come is from that.

(4) This was a guard who was friends with Yamato and trained Braig. He was first mentioned in my story "How We Met" and Yami expanded on him in "Moons of Fate".

(5) I changed this one quite a bit because it was written first by Yami, and a lot of the same stuff got covered in the earlier scenes. 

* * *

**The Least of These**

We see people suffering around us all the time. People in need of love and hope.

What do we do? Sometimes we help, sometimes we just pass them by.

We need to look around and help those we can. Sometimes we don't have much, I understand that, but we should do what we can.

Jesus talks about this sort of thing in Matthew 25. He is talking about the last days and the final judgment. In talking about the righteous, he says this, " _For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,_ _ **36**_ _I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'_ _ **37**_ _Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?_ _ **38**_ _And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?_ _ **39**_ _And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'_ _ **40**_ _And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me._ '"

Doing something for "the least of these" is something everyone should do, and sometimes we just don't do it.

So, next time you see someone in need, take the time to help them in any way that you can.


	39. Chapter 39: Mortality- Passing

**Who's ready for some FEELS!?  
BTW, I chose a theme song for Kaname, Rimi, and Yamato during this time. The song is the instrumental version of "Weight of the World" from** _ **NieR: Automata**_ **.**

 **The chapter did end up shorter than I wanted, but whatever...**

 **Well, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Yamato and Sasuke © to Yamichaos27!**

 **Other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 39: Mortality- Passing**

* * *

Silence.

No one knew when the gummi ship had been this quiet or this sad before. No one wanted to speak, feeling they would break the somber reverence for the figure bound in cloth, who lay in the back room.

Sora sat in the pilot seat. He noticed the red light on the dash, meaning someone was trying to contact them, but he didn't care.

Everyone's heads hung, weighed down by the heaviness on and in their hearts.

But no head or heart hung lower… than Naminé's.

He died. Arata died. He died saving her.

* * *

 _Naminé finished breaking the last chain. She opened her eyes and smiled; Arata looked up and smiled too, his eyes fading from gold to a deep aqua. He opened his smiling mouth to laugh, but froze._

" _Get down!" He shoved her back as hard as he could. The girl tumbled back just as she heard the glass window above them break._

 _When she looked up, she screamed. "NOOOO!" Arata knelt, a purple arrowgun bolt sticking out of his chest at a slight side angle(1). He coughed, blood beginning to pool in his mouth as he tilted to the side._

 _Sora and Kairi ran over just as Naminé caught him. "Arata!?"_

" _No! No! Please! Don't do this!"_

" _N-Naminé… Kairi…" Kairi knelt beside him, holding his hand as she tried to cast Cure. He continued to bleed. "I-I'm scared…"_

 _Outside, the Heartless and Nobodies all vanished, and the others returned to see Arata on the ground._

" _Oh no!"_

 _Jiminy's tiny hands laid on Arata's. "Just breathe. We're here."_

" _I don't want to die." Arata coughed, more blood sliding down his face. "I want to see Mom and Dad. I-I want to see Uncle Ansem… I want to have my family…"_

 _Kairi choked back tears. "You have a family. You do. Don't give up, brother."_

" _Brother…" He smiled before his face became serious. "Y-You need to be careful… X-Xeha-Xehanort is g-going to… he's going to i-invade th-three worlds. Th-the worlds are y-your…. Your…" He stopped in another coughing fit._

" _Arata?"_

" _I-I don't want to die…" He leaned against Naminé, the blood dripping into her lap. "I… I don't…"_

 _His breathing stopped. Life drained from his eyes._

 _Arata was dead._

* * *

"We're here…"

Everyone, almost everyone, got up and walked out of the gummi ship. Sauske and Ansem, followed by Dilan, Aeleus, Even, and Ienzo, hurried up to them.

"Where have you been!?" The captain nearly yelled. "We've been trying to hail you! There's an emergency. We found out that Master Kaname and Lady Rimi might have a son somewhere out there!"

"We know…"

They started. "Wait, you know?"

"We found him."

"Wh-where is he?"

Riku stepped out of the gummi ship, carrying the bundled up body of Arata in his arms. He looked up, his eyes meeting Ansem's. The old man seemed to shake a little. "Y-you're not saying…? You don't mean?"

"Uncle," Kairi sobbed, "he's dead."

"No…" Sasuke stumbled to Riku, taking the body from him. "We looked for him. We tried to find him… We wanted him to have a home." Holding the body close, tears fell from his eyes. "We failed… Tell us everything. What was his name? How did he die?"

Riku put a hand on the body. "Not here… Let's lay him down."

"R-right."

* * *

"No!"

"YOU MONSTER!" Kaname pulled Rimi to his chest as she cried. The swirling image of darkness before them showed their son, or more, Braig shooting their son. The couple held one another as the image faded, tears running down their faces.

Yamato clenched his fists, tears running down his face as well. "He was just a boy! How dare you!?"

"He belonged to me." Xehanort turned his back on the three in the cell. "He was mine and he ran away. He betrayed me, and the price of betrayal is death."

Rimi slid to the floor, crying. Kaname, in his anger, drew Dawn's Might and slashed at the cell bars. "I will kill you, Xehanort! You have hurt my family too much! I won't let you do it again!"

Xehanort smirked and held up his hand. Darkness swirled around the heads of the three. They cried out until they stood still, eyes blank, but still, tears glimmered in the corners, and Kaname's hand, holding his sword, shuddered.

"You three will go to Radiant Garden, and you will destroy the body of that replica you call a son. Now go."

The three stepped into a dark corridor and vanished.

"Are you crazy, ya old coot!?" Braig snarled. "You can't let them go alone! There's no telling what they'll do! And what if Sora and his friends free them!? What then!?"

Xehanort pulled the small object out of his pocket again. "I have a contingency plan."

* * *

Arata lay in a finely made casket, unbound. His face open to everyone. Naminé glanced over at Even and Ienzo; the two scientists looked equally sad and horrified.

"Y-you say they named him Arata Hachirou Mae?" Ansem sat nearby, trying his best to keep tears off the important book in his hands. A pen scratched across the paper. "There. Now, he is an official member of the royal family. My great-nephew." He sobbed as Kairi laid a bouquet of white roses, white violets, pink and red carnations, and white clover flowers(2) in the boy's hands.

Even clutched his clipboard to his chest, tears running down the wooden back. "We did this to him… w-we made him. W-we never treated him like the innocent child he was. Now he's gone…"

"It's just like the captain and Lady Rimi," Aeleus nodded, even his voice sounded wet with emotion, "they would see this boy for what he really was."

Sasuke looked down at the boy's face. While he saw Riku's features, in a way, he could see Kaname and Rimi. Maybe the hair, maybe it was his heart, touched by two kind souls. "I'm sorry, Master. I'm sorry we didn't find him in time." Gently, he laid a photograph of Kaname and Rimi in the casket.

"Nami," Ven's hand touched the girl's shoulder, "it wasn't your fault."

"I know… it was Braig's." Unfolding a piece of paper, the girl set a drawing beside Arata. A drawing of him, holding hands with Kairi, Kaname and Rimi on either side.

Ansem stood, wiping tears from his eyes. "Come… we need to… to make preparations."

Slowly, they all trickled from the room.

Sitting in the common area, no one spoke. Sasuke sharpened his sword. Kairi and Naminé looked through the drawings the blonde girl made as she freed Arata. Ansem sat with the paperwork, trying to distract himself.

" _My lord, Ansem._ "

"Yes, Tron?"

" _You need to see this!_ "

All eyes turned to the screen and everyone gasped. Kaname, Rimi, and Yamato stood around Arata's coffin…

* * *

One of Kaname's hands rested on Dawn's Might, while the other, trembling, refused to let the other move. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't.

Xehanort's pull sent shocks of pain through him, but he didn't move. "I won't… I won't do it. He's my son."

"None of us will do it." Rimi and Yamato both shuddered, fighting Xehanort's control.

Rimi walked over to the casket and planted a kiss on Arata's forehead, her tears spilling over, running down the boy's still face. "I'm sorry, Arata. We tried."

"We tried to protect you." Kaname walked over, laying his hand on his son's before he too bent down and kissed the boy's forehead. His eyes drifted down to Dawn's Might. "Again, I failed my vow. I swore to protect my family, but again I fail. I'm not worthy of Dawn's Might."

His wife placed her hand on his cheek. "You cannot blame yourself. You did your best."

"My best was not enough."

"Kaname," Yamato stepped in, "stop that. I know you're hurting, we all are, but don't let that undermine what you have done, and what Arata has done. He died a hero, saving his friend, Naminé. Do not blame yourself for this, ever. It was Xehanort; he wants us to blame ourselves, but we did what was right. Xehanort went out of his way to kill your boy. It's all his fault. He will pay for this. Someday. Somehow. He will pay. Maybe, we'll be there to see it."

"Yes, you're right, Master."

* * *

"This is our chance." Kairi stood up. "We have to free them now!"

"But Kairi…"

The princess shook her head. "I can use the Aeris. Master Yen Sid said I would need to be in combat and in emotional pain. Trust me, I'm pretty sure I can force it to activate with the pain I'm feeling. We can't let them leave."

"Dilan, Aeleus," Sasuke stood up, "make sure they don't leave. The rest of us have to keep them occupied until Kairi can do… whatever it is she's doing."

"Right!"

They ran, as fast as they could, down to the open area outside the room with the coffin. Kaname and the other two just stepped out of the room as they arrived. "Go!"

Everyone ran in. Xehanort's control snapped back over the three as they approached. Even Ansem came, standing behind Even and Ienzo, who blocked Rimi's attacks against the king.

Kairi stood in the back, focusing on her heart. On all the pain she felt. The pain of her parents being used. The pain of finding out she had a brother, and now he was gone.

Her mind and heart focused on those things, she charged. Slipping past the others, she crossed blades with her father.

She felt all the pain swelling within her, threatening to overflow as she slashed at her own father. Suddenly, it all exploded outward. With a scream, light filled the room.

Kaname, Rimi, and Yamato flew back, slamming against the ground. Kairi floated in the air, glowing white. Her clothes changed to the white dress as the giant angel wings sprouted from her back. " _ **Xehanort! You will never hurt them again! You lose!**_ " Her hand shot up and light with it, enveloping the three on the ground in ribbons of pure light.

The three screamed.

Everyone covered their eyes as light blinded them all.

Kaname, Rimi, and Yamato lay on the ground, darkness sliding off them. Rimi sat up first, clutching her head. "Huh…?" Her head came up to reveal indigo eyes.

"Are we…?" Kaname sat up, his eyes back to purple.

"W-we're free." Yamato brought himself up to a knee.

Floating downward, Kairi's Aeris form faded. Slowly, she approached her father. "Dad? Is that really you?"

"Hey, baby girl."

Ansem hurried over to Rimi, falling to his knees. "Rimi! My dear girl! My darling niece! You're ba-"

His hands went right through her.

Kairi reached out to hug her father, but fell through him.

Yamato moved to take his son's hand, but their hands could not touch.

"What!?"

Kaname looked down at his hands as they became transparent. "No! No! No!"

"Dad!"

Ansem tried to hold his niece, but she continued to fade before his eyes.

"Father!"

"Sasuke…!"

The three faded away into nothingness, leaving their loved ones with empty arms.

Kairi began shuddering. "This can't be happening… this can't be… They're gone. They're gone! We were so close! Why…!? How!?"

"Xehanort…" She looked over at Sasuke, who knelt, a hand over his eyes as his shoulders shook with emotion. "Braig said… he said that they might have made a failsafe, so if they were freed they would die again. Xehanort did it. He really did it…!"

Everyone stood, frozen in shock. Those who knew and loved the three could only cry.

Sora stood to the side, head down. How dare Xehanort do this! Wait.

He walked over and took Kairi's hand, pulling her to her feet. "Sora?"

"We're leaving."

"What? Sora, this isn't the time."

"We have to." His voice sharpened to an unusual tone. "If they're dead then we have to find them. We've got to go to the Underworld."

The Underworld?

Oh!

The Underworld! They would be there!

All of them ran for the gummi ship. Sasuke moved to follow but paused and looked back at his king. "Sauske, go. Just go."

"Yes, sir." The guard ran after them, and soon the ship shot out into the stars.

* * *

 **Ah feels…**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnote:

(1) This would've punctured his heart and/or lung.

(2) White roses symbolize purity and a new start. White violets symbolize innocence. Pink carnations mean "I'll never forget you", and red ones mean "my heart aches for you". White clover flowers mean "think of me". While some of these meanings were supposed to originally be romantic, you can see why I chose them.

* * *

 **A Rock and a Hard Place**

Hard times are always ahead of us. Things will happen. God never promised us that would live a life full of trouble. However, He does promise that he will help us.

One of the most famous verses in the Bible discusses this very concept.

Psalm 23:4 says, " _Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me._ "

While we are never promised that life will be easy and without trouble, we can take heart that God will be with us through it all, and he will protect us in it all. He will be our comfort in all times.


	40. Chapter 40: Mortality- Afterlife

**Hi guys!**

 **Sorry this chapter took longer than I expected. My dorm wifi went out.**

 **But I got it done.**

 **FOR GUEST: There is no Tsubasa in this story, sorry. It was in the original because the whole Kaname thing was a surprise there, and something had to set the stage for that. It was not needed in this version, so I removed it. Sorry.**

 **Ok, let's get to it!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Sasuke, Yamato, and Momo © to Yamichos27!**

 **Other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 40: Mortality- Afterlife**

* * *

Silence again.

Nothing but silence.

Why did Olympus have to be so far away!? Sora gripped the controls so tightly his knuckles were white. He was just so… angry.

"Sora?" Kairi's soft voice cut into his angry bubble.

"You doing alright, Kairi?"

"Yeah," she sat beside him, "I think so… I don't know. D-do you think we'll find them in the Underworld?"

Setting the ship to autopilot, Sora leaned back. "I don't know. I'm sure they're there, but I doubt Hades will just let us walk up to them. If we have to make him we will. We just need to see them."

"Yeah…"

The cockpit of the ship dinged. "Finally!" Sora vigorously pulled the ship to a stop. "We're here guys."

* * *

"HADES! WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"Sora, shouting will do nothing."

"We have to get to them." The boy ran a hand through his spiky hair. "Seriously, where is Hades?"

Goofy scratched his head. "Maybe his throne room?"

"Yeah, let's go there!" Sora led the way through the dark, haunted place. Their own gloom seemed to make the area much gloomier.

Finally, they reached the throne room they found it empty. "He's not here…"

"Oh, hello." A woman walked into the room from behind them. She seemed so out of place in this place of death with her soft violet skin, white dress, and crown of flower petals that framed her long blonde hair.

"Who are you?"

"Persephone, goddess of spring, and queen of the Underworld. Are you looking for my husband?"

…

"Hades has a wife!?"

Persephone laughed. "Yeah, I'm his wife. And don't ask how. That's a story you do NOT want to hear(1)." She sighed before walking over towards them. "I don't like coming up here to _his_ part of the Underworld, but I needed to meet some people for some of those under my care. Actually…" She walked over, getting close to Kairi before moving over and doing the same to Sasuke. "You are the ones I am here to meet."

"Huh? Wait, did my parents-!?"

"Yes, they did." Persephone beckoned for them to follow. They did so with gusto. The goddess led them down flights of stairs in a hallway that none of them had seen before. It spiraled on down, further and further until widening into a large cavern. "Tell me, what happens to souls when they come here?"

Donald smirked and pointed to the glowing river at the far end of the room. "Easy, they go there and then to the Well of Souls."

"Not quite," Persephone smirked, "but you're partially right. Yes, the go to those two places, but those are pit stops before the souls are separated to one of four places: Elysium, Asphodel, or the Fields of Punishment. The Fields are for those who are evil; it is much like what people think of as 'hell. Asphodel is for people who did absolutely nothing special in life. But Elysium is my domain." She stopped at a large door, carved with plants. "The place reserved for the virtuous and heroes."

The door swung open, blinding everyone with a warm light that did not seem to belong in this dark place.

When they blinked the stars from their eyes, everyone gasped. Green fields and mountains spread out before them. They could see a crystal clear river which ran into a lake.

"Wow!"

"Now, this place is not for the living, but I can give you twenty-four hours in here. If you want to find your loved ones, I'd try the garden near the lake."

Kairi and Sasuke took off running, followed by Sora and some of the others. Mickey hung back, turning to the goddess. "Why are you helping us?"

"Because my husband is a jerk and I'm not exactly married to him by choice. He gave me this part of the Underworld so we didn't have to see each other. I don't want to be near him and he doesn't want me getting on his case all the time." She crossed her arms, staring into the beautiful Elysium. "I try to make the people under my care happy, but my husband took the Maes and Yamato from here without a word to me. I only spend 6(2) months of the year here, and he took them the week before I came back. Don't worry, I won't let my husband interrupt your time here. Go on..."

* * *

Kairi ran down the soft green slope. She reached the lake and saw a smooth wall of hedges running along with a tree-like archway leading into the garden. Sasuke came behind her.

They went into the garden and flowers of all kinds spread out around them. Trees, circled with flowers, dotted the area. Beside a small stream sat two figures with a third leaning against a broken wall. "No way…" The others reached the entrance as Kairi and Sasuke approached the three.

Kaname, out of his uniform, wearing a black jacket over a white shirt, looked up at them and grinned. "They came!"

"Did you doubt that they would?"

Kairi's walk turned into a run as she nearly fell into her mother's arms. Kaname stood up and joined their hug. "Mom! Dad!"

"My baby!" Rimi cupped the girl's cheeks in her hands before kissing her daughter's forehead. "Oh, my sweet girl! I've missed you so much."

Kaname kissed the top of her head. "Oh, my dear girl."

Sasuke and his father embraced, both of them laughing. When Sasuke turned around, he found Kaname's arms around him. "It's really you two…"

"It's us, Sasuke." Kaname turned to the others and strode over, first to Lea, wrapping the young man in a hug. "Lea! It's good to see you." He clasped both of his shoulders. "And may I say, you got so tall!"

"Good to see you too, Kaname, especially in your right mind."

Rimi giggled. "Dead or not, it is good to be in our right minds again. By the way, we must apologize for what happened."

"It wasn't your fault, Mom." Kairi smiled, hugging her mother. "I just… I wish we could've saved you."

Yamato crossed his arms. "You did save us. Not in the way we expected, but we're free. We've been dead for a long time, so it's nothing new to us. And, this place isn't that bad."

"Exactly," Kaname grinned. "As much as we would like to be alive again, we honestly would like our rest."

"You deserve to rest."

Rimi smiled. "Thank you. How long are you able to stay here?"

"Persephone said we have twenty-four hours." Aqua smiled. "Kairi, Sasuke, take some time with your parents. The rest of us will hang out."

Kaname grinned. "The afterlife or not, there is a day-night cycle to keep things normal. When night comes, go to that massive grove of trees. Behind them is a town. If you ask around, anyone can point you to our homes there. We actually have jobs too."

"Sounds good. We'll see you there."

* * *

Kairi and Sasuke went with their parents towards the grove of trees. As they approached, they saw an archway of branches. Through the archway, a city appeared with beautiful buildings from all different worlds and eras. But, it didn't look too strange.

"Sasuke, follow me." His father grinned. "So, your place or mine for supper?"

"Ours is bigger, so our place."

"Sounds good!" Yamato and his son walked down a different street. The man glanced over at his son and smiled. "At last, we can actually talk to each other(3)."

"No kidding. I was starting to worry that the only memory I'd ever have of you would be fighting against you." His son stopped gawking at the beautiful city and smiled back.

"I'm really sorry this couldn't have been under better circumstances."

"It wasn't your fault. This was Xehanort doing. And if it's any consolation, I'd rather talk to you like this then not at all."

His father chuckled lightly before stopping in the middle of a small plaza. "Fair point." He sighed, reaching up to touch his son's cheek. "Look at you. You truly are a chip off the old block, aren't you? Clearly, you took after me in the looks department. Well, except for the fact that you have your mother's eyes."

"I've been told numerous times that I take after you in more than just looks."

"So my student told me." The father rubbed the back of his neck, eyes downcast. "Kaname told me everything that happened after I died. I never imagined that my absence would affect your social life. I'm so sorry I chose the royal family over my own."

His son smiled warmly. "It's okay. I honestly never blamed you. You were just doing your duty. I could never hold that against you. In fact, I always admired you for it. You're courage to risk your life for the greater good. Despite never meeting you, you were my hero. You were the reason I wanted to become a swordsman. Besides, I've come to understand that they were the closest thing you had to a family. Master Kaname told me your story, that your parents were killed by Insurgos and you grew up on the street. You saved Lord Ansem's brother, Hachirou, and sister-in-law, Mariko, from Insurgos because Mariko was pregnant with Rimi. Hachirou rewarded you and let you into the guard, and then he and Mariko made you Rimi's godfather."

Yamato nodded and sat down on the edge of a fountain. "I can't tell you how much my heart broke after Hachirou and his wife passed away due to the sickness outbreak. I owed him everything, and so I made a vow to protect his brother and daughter with my life, forging Moon Cutter as a symbol of my will." He looked up as Sasuke took Moon Cutter and its sheath from his back and held it out to his father; with a smile, the former captain took it. "I didn't just care for them though. Before I had finished my blade, I was ambushed by Insurgos, I was victorious, but came out badly wounded. But fortune smiled on me, as your mother, Momo Tsubaki, found me and nursed me back to health. She became another one of my precious people, one whom I love with all my heart. Then I met Kaname, a troubled boy with an abusive father, but also had skills. So I arrested his father and took him on as an apprentice, where he became like a son to me."

"I suppose you helping to raise Lady Rimi and training Master Kaname was basically practice for when I came around, right?"

"I suppose so." He handed his sword back to his son. "When I found out you're mother was pregnant with you, I was excited. I really was looking forward to having an actual son. I can't tell you how many things I wanted to do with you. Raising you, playing with you, possibly even training you." Yamato's breath hitched in his throat as he stared at the ground. "But then the Insurgos invaded, I was worn out after taking down the strongest opponent I had ever face, and I wound up killed using myself as a human shield defending his lordship. I missed my chance to be a father. I left you and your mother behind. I didn't even get a chance to see you born. That was my single greatest regret. I feel like I failed you."

"That's not true. I admit it was hard growing up not knowing you. I was so insecure about myself. Being the son of a hero, people automatically putting me on a pedestal. Older kids bullying me and talking crap about you. I didn't think anyone understood me. I just kept to myself and didn't make any friends. That is until I met Master Kaname, made friends with his daughter and a couple others, and trained to be a swordsman like you. And all that was because of you." *puts his hand on his father's shoulder* "You inspired me to become just like you. You taught the same man who taught me, how to be a swordsman and how to be a man. He was a father to me just like you were one to him. And the more he taught me, the more I understood you, the more I felt a connection to my real father, the one thing I wanted most in all this. He inherited your philosophy about protecting the ones you love, and in turn so have I. I believe that protecting those you cherish is where one's true strength lies. In more ways than one, Father, you influenced my life even in death, and in a very good way. You didn't fail me."

When the young man looked up at his father, he could see tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Sasuke. I can't tell you how much I needed to hear that from you. I really can't thank Kaname enough for mentoring you in my stead. You really have grown into a strong and noble warrior. I saw it when we crossed swords when Xehanort forced us to attack our home. You've taken mine and Kaname's place as captain of the royal guard. I cannot tell you how proud I am of you."

"You have no idea how much I've always wanted to hear that from you."

Yamato smiled. "You certainly impressed both me and Kaname. You were able to counter my students strongest attack. What did you call that attack, Crescent Divider?"

"It was something I managed to whip up on my own sometime after Radiant Garden's fall. An energy wave capable of absorbing other energy attacks."

"You definitely learned to use Moon Cutter's power in ways even I hadn't thought of." Yamato stood up, laying a hand on his son's shoulder. "You truly have surpassed me and your master." He removed the black sword and sheath slung over his shoulder. "Here, take this. A personal gift from me to you."

Sasuke took the sword and unsheathed it. It held a deep ebony color, beautiful and somewhat mysterious. "What is it?"

"Since you had Moon Cutter, Xehanort made me forge another sword for me to use. I call it Fated Eclipse. Admittedly it's more of a derivative, a younger brother to Moon Cutter, so to speak. It's not made of the same Mythril metal, and it's infused with a much simpler enchantment, the power to channel wind magic. It's not much, but perhaps you or someone you trust could to put it to good use."

Sasuke re-sheathed the blade and smiled. "Thank you, Father. I'll take good care of them both. I promise I'll protect our kingdom with my life, just as you did."

Yamato smiled brightly. "Glad to hear it. Speaking of, I feel a need to ask you something: Besides our homeland and the people from it , what do you have that you want to protect?"

"Well," his son smiled as he pulled out a small trinket with the image of a curved sword on it, "there is one who comes to mind. I haven't been back to see her(4) in a while."

Yamato looked at the object and nodded with a smile. "You're gonna do great things, Sasuke. Of course, I've heard you've done a lot of things already over the years." He planted his hands on both of his son's shoulders. "I want you to continue this path you've chosen for yourself. My student has taught you well, and your long journey proved fruitful. Pass on what you've learned, and continue our legacy."

"I will. It was an honor to finally meet you. I feel my connection to you much stronger than ever. I feel much more...complete now." Sasuke wrapped his father in a hug.

Yamato hugged him back. "As do I. And remember this: I am proud to call you my son."

"I love you, Father."

"I love you too, Son." He pulled back and suddenly smiled wider. "And, I think there's one more person who wants to see you." He points.

Sasuke turned and gasped. A woman in a bright green dress with a white collar and flowers around the skirt stood behind him, the basket in her arms threatening to drop it as she stared in shock. "S-Sasuke!?"

"Mother!?"

* * *

Kairi followed her parents into a two-story house in town. It looked so much like the apartment back in Radiant Garden. Rimi walked over to the kitchen, happily humming. "So, what should we make for supper tonight, since we have a large crowd?"

"You can cook here?"

"Yes," her mother smiled, "I mean, we don't have to eat, but it just feels normal. Hmm, since we have lots of flowers around here, how about tempura edible flowers with a smoked salmon salad. And for dessert, we'll have some bread with rose petal jam and candied pansies."

"Sounds delicious!" Kaname joined her in the kitchen. "Kairi, why don't you help us and tell us all about your life." He smiled sadly. "We've missed so much of your life after all. We want to hear everything."

Kairi's eyes lit up. "I'd love to!"

"We just need one more person…" Kaname grinned, cupping his hands around his mouth. "HEY! WANNA HELP MAKE SUPPER!?"

Kairi heard a thudding from upstairs and a figure came bounding down the stairs. Her eyes widened in shock and joy. "Arata!?"

"Kairi?" His mouth widened into a smile."You're here!" He ran over and hugged her.

"Now, we're all together."

"Finally…"

For hours, the three of them cooked, talking about life. Kairi told them literally everything, and they listened.

Eventually, all the others showed up at the house. The evening, which faded into a form of night, found them all around the supper table eating, laughing, and talking. Jiminy sat in the middle of the table, writing down each and every word. Everyone felt their hearts lighten.

The only damper on everything had to be that Rimi, Kaname, Yamato, and Arata remembered nothing of Xehanort's plans. A last fail safe should they escape.

* * *

The next morning, Riku left the Mae household, deciding to stroll in the soft morning air of Elysium. A few hours still remained before their twenty-four hours were up. He liked the lakeside and how it looked in the false sunlight. It reminded him of the islands.

Suddenly, he noticed a girl about fourteen years old dressed in a yellow shirt with green and white polka dot overalls. She wore blue, black, and white tennis shoes. She had two pigtails that twisted around.

"It can't be…" He walked closer to the girl.

She turned, her aqua eyes meeting his. "Wait… R-Riku…!?"

"K-Kikyo…"

"RIKU!" She ran over, tackling him in a hug. "How are you…? You're alive. How are you here?"

The boy looked down at his sister, the beloved girl he hadn't seen since he was eight. "Kiki… I came here with my friends. It's a long story. But, I-I didn't expect to see you." He pulled her close. "You're here… you're really here. Look at you, all grown up."

"I could say the same about you. You look good." She leaned against him. "I've missed you, Mom and Dad too. Tell me what's been going on! I want to know everything!"

Suddenly, Riku tensed. "You won't be proud of some of it. I did some bad things… things I knew would make you sad."

"I still want to know… Brother, there is nothing you could do to make me stop loving you. Tell me everything, please."

"Alright, Kiki…" He sat down beside her and began to talk.

* * *

Aqua walked through the town, looking at everything around her. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she found herself facing a man with navy hair. He seemed… familiar.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were my wife." He paused, looking at the girl. "You do look a lot like her."

"John!" Aqua started, eyes wide, as a woman with hair like her own came walking over.

"Oh, there you are, Becky."

The woman smiled. "Who's your new friend?"

"John and Rebecca…" Aqus breathed out the names quietly, as if saying them out loud would make the two vanish.

Rebecca turned to the girl, eyes narrowing slightly. "You do seem… familiar." She came closer, before her eyes widened. "Wait… it can't be. A-Aqua?"

"It's me, Mama, Papa!"

"Aqua!" The two parents dropped everything and embraced their daughter, tears in their eyes.

The three sank to their knees, holding each other close as they sobbed. For the first time since she was seven years old, Aqua found herself in the arms of her parents.

* * *

"Good morning, Sora." Rimi greeted as the boy came downstairs. "Sleep well?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Oh, no need for formalities, just Rimi will do." She smiled as she continued to chop up something in the kitchen. "By the way, Kaname wanted to talk to you."

"Where is he?"

The woman set down her knife. "Remember where you found us yesterday, in the garden by the river?" Sora nodded. "He's there."

"Alright, Rimi. Thanks for telling me." Sora went out, heading towards the garden. What could Kaname possibly want to talk to him about?

As he came up to the river, the boy saw Kaname sitting beside the river. "Hey, Sora. Join me." The two sat in silence for a time before the captain spoke up again. "Sora, how much do you care for my daughter?"

"Well," Sora blushed slightly, not expecting this to be the topic of choice for Kaname, "she means everything to me. I love her."

"You love her? Sora, do you know what love is?"

"Uh…"

"Just give your best guess at how to describe it."

Sora bit his lip, trying to find the words. "It's that warm feeling in my chest when I look at her and the happiness I feel when near her."

The man turned to the boy. "That's a pretty good guess. Sora, mind if I give you a lesson?"

"Uh, sure…"

Kaname picked up a rock and skipped it across the river. "Being married for a while teaches you things, especially about love. We kinda have this idea that love is a feeling, but it's not. Feelings come and go. Sometimes we confuse really liking someone or having a crush is love, but it's not."

"Then what is love?"

"A choice." The captain smiled. "Love is a choice, a choice you have to make every day. There are days when the person you care for will drive you crazy. You wake up and see them and you're just like 'I married this person'. But even when those times come, and you and she have a fight, you have to make a choice. Are you going to still love her, or not."

Sora blinked. "I didn't know that… but if it's a choice, how do I choose it? I apparently don't know what it is."

"Love is made up of many things. When you love someone you're patient, kind, you don't get envious, you don't boast, you're not prideful, you're not arrogant or rude, you don't think about only yourself, and you keep no record of wrongs. All those things make up love, and all are a choice."

Sora moved his eyes from Kaname to the river. "I mean, that makes sense when you think about it. But, don't we act that way towards most people, not just our… significant other?"

"That's right." Kaname reached over and tapped Sora's head. "Now, you're getting it. We choose to love everyone everyday. Sometimes, with the person you care for most, you can have the worst fights and the most difficult time loving them, but it's a choice you have to make. Days when you fight and when they do something that just annoys the stuffing out of you, you still have to make that choice." He laughed. "Sometimes I wonder why Rimi still loves me, especially when I do dumb stuff like put fake spiders on the bed as a prank. She hates spiders(5). Yet, she still love me in all my dumb ways."

Sora laughed. "Kinda sounds like how Kairi puts up with all the dumb stuff I do."

"Yeah, and there is one more thing. The greatest expression of love is to lay down your life for that person. And, it sounds like you've done that and lived to tell the tale."

"Yeah."

Kaname stood up, holding out a hand to help Sora up as well. "I just wanted to make sure you understood." He removed the katana, Dawn's Might, sheath and all, from his belt. "Do you know what this sword stands for?"

"Uh…"

"It's a vow. To protect the person your wife and by extension, your children, for as long as you live. It is typically passed on to the eldest son when he finds the girl he wishes to marry, but if the eldest child is a girl, it is given to the young man who desires her hand, when the father approves." He looked down at the sword. "I failed my vow, many times now, but I do want to do the right thing now. To make sure my daughter is protected for the rest of her life by someone who will love her every day." He turned, holding the sword out to Sora. "And that someone is you."

Sora stared at the sword. Kaname was… entrusting Kairi to him. Slowly, he reached for the sword, wrapping his fingers around the sheath. "I don't know what to say…"

"Say that you vow to protect my daughter and your future children with everything you have, that you will use this blade as a means to defend those who need you, and that you will choose to love my daughter every day, no matter what happens."

"I swear. I won't fail you." Sora kept his eyes on the sword as Kaname let go. "Thank you…"

"No, thank you." Kaname smiled, sinking back to a sitting position. "My heart feels at peace knowing I did what I could to make sure my little girl is safe and cared for."

"Well, you boys look like you're getting along." The two turned and saw Rimi and Kairi, the former carrying what looked to be a picnic basket. "We brought breakfast. Arata will be joining us in a bit; he had some things to take care of first."

Kairi smiled, but paused as she saw Dawn's Might in Sora's hands. "Why do you have that…?"

"Your dad gave it to me." Sora watched as her face turned a deep pink. "You remember what it means?" She nodded, watching as Sora attached the sheath to his belt. "I guess this means… we're kinda engaged."

"I guess it does."

Kaname laughed. "What are you waiting for, an invitation, kiss already."

The two teens lightly laughed, blushes spreading across their face as Sora wrapped his arms around Kairi's waist and pulled her into a soft kiss.

"Kaname, are you crying?"

"No! It's just all the pollen from the flowers."

"These flowers don't produce pollen."

"Rimi!"

Kairi and Sora watched the couple playfully bicker, bickering which ended with Kaname getting up and grabbing Rimi from behind as he tickled her. Everything seemed so normal. So, right.

* * *

"Ventus."

The blond boy turned to see Arata coming towards him. "Hey, Arata. What's up?"

"I just wanted to make a request of you, regarding Naminé."

"What about her?"

Arata stuck his hands in his pockets, sighing. "She means a lot to me, even if the memories of her were fake, I can't shake the little bit of feeling inside me that makes me still care about her. Look, I know you care about her, don't you?"

Ven nodded. "She's my friend, and the only companion I had to talk to during the thirteen years I slept, so yeah, I do care about her. She's an amazing friend, so sweet and kind."

"I thought as much." Arata sighed. "Look, I've gotta go, but I just wanted to ask you… please, take care of her. I know she doesn't really have anyone in the world. No family… No one really close, but you're the closest thing she has. Please, take care of her."

"I will, Arata. Don't worry."

"Thank you, Ventus."

"Please, call me Ven."

* * *

"Do you have to go?"

Riku hugged his sister. "Yeah, our time is nearly up."

Kikyo sighed before reaching into her pocket and pulling out something. "Hey, I wrote this letter a few years ago to you, Mom, and Dad. Please, take it to them."

"I will, Kiki." Riku bent down and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you to, Riku."

It broke his heart to leave his dear sister behind, but she was dead. He couldn't bring her back with him. He watched her waving as he walked away. Just before he moved so far away he couldn't see her, he saw a man, dressed in a hakama, with teal hair(6) walking over towards her. Guess she'd made a few friends after living in the underworld for nine years.

He met up with the others at the exit to Elysium. He could see Aqua saying goodbye to two people who looked like her. They must've been her parents.

Kairi and Sora stood by Kaname and Rimi, though Riku noticed the sword at his friend's waist. "I must've missed something."

Rimi handed Kairi three letters. "I wrote these last night. One's for my uncle. The other two are for Even and Ienzo."

"I have some letters as well." Kaname held up two more. "For Dilan and Aeleus."

Sasuke walked up beside his parents. "I can take those. I'm going straight back to Radiant Garden." They handed him the letters.

"Sasuke," Kaname embraced his student, "I'm proud of you. You've become a great warrior and a good man."

"Thank you, Master."

Rimi touched the young man's cheek. "You've made us both proud, Sasuke." She moved on to Lea. "And you, you've become a wonderful man. Take care of yourself, Lea."

"I will, Ms. Rimi."

Kaname smiled at Aqus as she approached. "Aqua, we never got to thank for what you did to protect Kairi. Without you, who knows what would've happened to her."

"It was the least I could do."

"Excuse me," Persephone stood outside the doors of Elysium, "but it's time."

Sasuke bit his lip before turning to his mother and father. "I don't want to say goodbye again."

"Then let's not say goodbye." Momo took her son's hands. "See you again sounds better."

"That it does." Yamato laid his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Well then, see you again."

Kairi leaned once again into the embrace of her parents. "Goodbye. I love you…"

"We love you too."

Kaname kissed her head. "And we will see you again one day. And until then, you will be well taken care of." He looked up, meeting eyes with Sora who nodded with a smile.

"It's time." Kairi pulled away from her parents, backing up until she stood beside Sora. The two joined hands and followed the others out of the bright Elysian lights and into the dark coldness of the Underworld.

Their loved ones waved from the bright part of the Underworld as the doors to Elysium shut with a loud bang.

"They're really gone." Kairi leaned into Sora's chest, holding back sobs.

"They're not gone, just here." He pointed to her heart with a smile.

Everyone smiled until…

"Honey! I'm home!" Hades appeared in a dark cloud. He froze, taking a moment to glance over the large number of heroes at the doorway to Elysium. And not just heroes but actual _living_ heroes. The god walked to his wife, forcing a smile on his face. "Sweetie… why are there heroes here?"

"I was letting them see their loved ones."

Hades coughed. "Um, I'm sorry but, what did you say? I could've sworn you were _helping_ my enemies."

Suddenly, Persephone reached up and grabbed Hades by the ear. "Listen here 'sweetie' this is my part of the Underworld, and I can do whatever I please with those who live here. Weren't those your _exact_ words when we married?" She dragged him off by the ear, berating him the entire time.

"Well… that was interesting."

"Yeah. Let's just go."

* * *

Sora sat in the cockpit, Dawn's Might lying across his knees. For a time, he wondered about Sasuke; he'd used a star shard to get back to Radiant Garden... hopefully, he got those letters to Ansem and the others soon. Moving his eyes back down to the katana on his lap, he pulled the sword just a bit out of the sheath.

The handle, bound in red cloth, stood out against the silver blade and black guard. It was so simple a weapon, yet so beautiful. Sora could almost feel energy pulsing through it.

"Looking at the sword?" Kairi sat beside him with a smile.

"Yeah," he laughed, "it's kinda weird. I mean, we're kinda engaged now. I mean, I still need to talk to your dad on the islands before anything."

Kairi giggled. "How about we say we're planning to get engaged?"

"That'll work."

They heard whispers behind them. Turning, they saw everyone else watching. "Uh…"

"You two are engaged!?"

Sora pressed a button, and the door between the cockpit and the rest of the ship slammed shut and locked with a click. "There."

He smiled as Kairi doubled over laughing. He soon joined her. When their laughter stopped, the girl held out a letter. "By the way, Dad wanted me to give this to you. He said it was for you to read when you're feeling low."

"Thanks, Kai."

* * *

Braig leaned forward, looking at the empty seats in the round room. "Hey, Old Coot! What exactly is your plan for getting back all the people we've lost!?"

"Do not worry." Xehanort smirked. "I have many roads open. Terranort is securing a fourth Heartless for the invasion. The rest of you, go and prepare for the first attack." His old eyes glanced down at the small object in his open hand. "I will make preparations for the second attack."

* * *

 **A sweet chapter for you guys!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) If you know the original myth, you know this to be true.

(2) Some myths only have her there for winter, and others for fall and winter.

(3) This is a scene written by Yami.

(4) Sasuke ends up marrying Rydia from Final Fantasy 4.

(5) This is an idea from Nintendoman01.

(6) Those who read the original story might know who this is

* * *

 _VAs:_

 _Persephone- Eden Riegel (Marie, Hauyn, Hitomi, Kiara, Iris Amicita, Kiara, Catzi)_

 _Momo Kazekiri: (Natalie Lander (Terra Branford, Elise, Kinzie Kensington)_

 _Kikyo Tsuchi- Liliana Mumy (Leni, Mertle Edmonds, Rosebud, Beth Tezuka)_

 _Rebecca Maris- Susanna Thompson (Moira Queen, Carol Preston, Diane Yates)_

 _John Maris- Jamey Sheridan (Robert Queen, Mitchell Hawthorne, Ken Rosewall)_

* * *

 **What is Love**

I know I've mentioned this before, but I felt like this is a good chapter, due to the conversation between Kaname and Sora, to bring it up again like I brought it up in the second chapter for Les Tayny.

The conversation in the chapter contains some things that come straight from the Bible.

What is love?

What does it mean to love?

Love is a word we like to use a lot today. We have people in love. Love your neighbor. Love your enemies. You love your family and friends. The power of true love. But what does love really mean?

If we love someone, do we have to agree with everything they do or say? If we love someone, do we just let them do things that can hurt them without saying anything? What should we do when we love someone?

A lot of times, we hear verses about love at weddings, but these verses can be applied to anyone at any time, not just for love between spouses, but between friends and neighbors.

John 15:13 says, " _Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends._ "

Romans 13:9-10 says, " _For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law._ "

But love is something we all need, without love, we're just a bunch of grumpy people who hate everything, and I don't think most of us want to be that kind of person. So, this is what love is, this is what we should be like when we show love:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8, " _Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away._ "

This is what love is.

And it is true that when you get married it can sometimes be difficult to make the choice to love that spouse of yours. They can make you mad or their little quirks are just annoying, but still you have to make that choice.

Like the vows said: for better or worse, for rich or for poor, in sickness and in health, till death do you part. Make the choice.

Will you love or not?


	41. Chapter 41: Narnia- Caspian

**For those of you who read the old story, you will know, when it comes to this world, I go by the book, literally. I can't stand the movie, so I use the book as a reference.**

 **Well, off we go.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Narnia © to C.S. Lewis!**

* * *

 **Chapter 41: Narnia- Caspian**

* * *

Sasuke looked down at the letters in his hands. He appeared back on his homeworld near his own home. He wondered what could be inside the letters, but did not look. They weren't for him after all.

When he reached the gates, Dilan and Aeleus spotted him, straightening up at the sight of their captain, but Sasuke could see a longing in their eyes, a longing for some word of their old friend.

"Captain?"

The young man gave a sad smile, as he held out the letter addressed to the two. "Master Kaname wanted me to give this to you."

They took the letter from him, sitting on a ledge to read it. Sasuke heard the two men, usually so stoic and emotionless, sobbing.

When he entered the library, Even and Ienzo looked up from their books. They too looked just as concerned about the fates of their old friends. "Lady Rimi gave me something for you both." He handed each of them a letter. This time, he waited a minute, watching as the two opened the envelopes.

Ienzo read his with a sad smile on his face, tears streaming down his face as he did so.

Even sat down, shaking as he read the letter before holding it close to his chest. Sasuke had never seen him so… sad. He moved on into Ansem's office, where the old ruler sat, burying himself in work, as he did when he was worried.

"Lord Ansem," he walked over to the desk and laid out the two letters, "your niece and my father wanted me to bring these to you."

The king gently picked up Yamato's letter. He read it, smiling softly as tears welled up in his eyes. Laying down the letter, Ansem picked up the letter from Rimi. This time, the reaction was very different. His hands shook and the tears flowed freely.

"Rimi… oh, my darling… my dear niece… my daughter…(1)"

Sasuke left the king alone with his grief. He went to his own home, taking the sword from his father, Fated Eclipse, and hung it on the wall. But even he felt a sting in his heart. Slowly, he sank to his knees, hand against the wall as tears came cascading down his cheeks.

* * *

Kairi sat in the cockpit, staring out at the stars. Lea slid into the chair next to her. They sat in silence for some time, just looking out across the dark sky; Kyokan sat in her lap, snuggling up to her, almost basking like a cat, in the light of her heart. They left Olympus behind them a few days before. For most of the time, no one brought up what happened with her parents, well except for Sora, with whom she discussed all her feelings.

"Kairi," Lea smiled, "I couldn't help but notice that Sora now has Dawn's Might."

"Yes, he does." She blushed.

"Thought so." The pyro smirked. He knew what the sword meant. His mouth opened to make a snide remark when the proximity alarm went off. He glanced down at the screen before his face split with a massive grin. "Kairi, you'll never believe where we are." He pressed the intercom. "Guys! We've made it to a new world!" No one could miss the excitement in his voice.

Kairi giggled, looking over at the screen. "Oh wow! I missed this place(2)!"

The two chattered excitedly as the others came into the cockpit. "So, what's so special about this world that's making you so excited, Lea?"

Turning around in his chair, he looked to the rest of the group. "In this world, we could live out the rest of our lives, and still have the time to defeat Xehanort."

"Huh?"

"Not saying that's the best idea, but still," Riku interjected, "You know how each world runs at its own speed?" Everyone nodded. "This world has an extreme version of that. No matter how much time we spend on that world, no time will pass outside. We literally could live out our lives there and then leave and everything would be the same as it was when we landed."

"That's so cool!"

Mickey nodded, "As they said, it would not be best to live out our lives there, because once we returned, we would be unprepared to handle Xehanort."

"We should see if we can help there and then get back to work."

* * *

The group landed on a bright sandy beach, looking across a channel to another land mass. Behind them lay a dense wood.

"Uh, where are we?"

Lea glanced around curiously. "I've never been to this place before." He watched as Kyokan sniffed around the beach. "And did we have to bring him along?"

"He's been stuck on the ship for a long time. He needs to get out."

"Hush… listen…"

Everyone grew quiet as the sound of five voices reached their ears. "I'm sure the light came down this way."

"Bulbs and bolsters, do you really want to go TOWARDS a strange light?"

"There's nothing for it."

"Did you notice it looked kinda familiar?"

"Yes, it's as if we've seen it before."

Lea turned to Riku and Kairi, "I think we know some of those voices."

"Yep!"

A small group walked into the open: a boy around Riku's age with dirty blonde hair and a kingly look about him. With him came a brown-haired girl a year or so younger than him, a boy even younger than them, and a girl younger still(3). A short, stout man with a red beard tottered behind them.

"Beards and barnacles! I've never seen such a strange crew!" The bearded man placed a hand on his hip.

Lea, Riku, and Kairi went forward, kneeling before the four children. "You're Majesties!"

The stout man raised an eyebrow. "And who might you rascals be?"

"Show some respect, Trumpkin!" The younger boy chastised. "These three are Riku, Lea, and Kairi, knights of the highest order of the Lion!"

"Knights!?"

Lea turned around with a smirk. "That's right." He stood up, "This is High King Peter of Narnia, his sister Queen Susan, their brother King Edmund, and the youngest Queen Lucy. Got it memorized?"

The group nodded to them. "Your Majesties, there are our friends King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Sora, Aqua, Ven, Roxas, Xion, and Naminé."

"Got it mem…"

Kairi smacked the pyro upside the head. She giggled as the Yenlow Unversed walked up to the dwarf, sniffing, and yipping happily. "And that's Kyokan."

Lucy giggled, "And this is our new friend, Trumpkin the dwarf."

"So where exactly are we?" Riku looked around, "This place isn't exactly familiar."

Susan pointed up onto a hill where they could see the ruins of a castle. "We're at the ruins of Cair Paravel."

"Ruins?"

"Yes," Edmund nodded, "Do you know how the time in this world runs?"

"Yeah, no matter how much time we spend here, no time will pass anywhere else."

"Exactly! No time may pass while we're here but once you leave you can't know how time here is going. We ruled as Kings and Queens here in Narnia for years and years, but when we accidentally stumbled back through to our homeworld no time had passed. A year passed in our world but, it seems, like hundreds of years have passed here."

"Whoa…"

Kairi looked to the five, "So why are you here?"

"The new, rightful ruler of Narnia, Caspian." Peter's hand rested on the glistening sword at his hip. "We're here to help defeat his uncle, King Miraz, and put Caspian on the throne." His eyes glanced across the channel. "We have to get to the mainland and from there to Aslan's How, formerly known as the Stone Table. Our plan was to use a longboat we have to row over to Glasswater Creek. From there we can row directly up to the back of the hill of the Stone Table."

"What about food?" Naminé questioned.

Susan picked up a raincoat, full of something. "We have apples."

"That'll work."

"Excuse me," Aqua cut in, "rowing the way to the mainland would be a long haul. Maybe, we could use our gliders and pull the boat along behind; then you can save your energy for the rowing up Glasswater Creek."

"That's a great idea!" Mickey piped up.

Trumpkin sighed, "So you are coming with us?"

"Of course! We came here to help out in any way we can."

"Then let's get moving!"

Aqua summoned her glider, attaching the backs to the front of a longboat. There seemed to be just enough room for all the others. Sitting in the boat, the hot sun beat down on them, making them tired without doing much exercise at all.

She towed the boat across the channel, having to go at a rather slow speed so not to jostle the passengers around. By the time they reached Glasswater Creek, the sun had begun dropping below the horizon.

"It's too late to continue. We should rest up for the night." No one really felt like lighting a fire so supper consisted of plain apples.

Everyone laid down on the dry moss and leaves, falling asleep rather quickly. Kairi awoke, a rock under her back, making it difficult for her to sleep. She sat up and shivered, "Oh, why didn't we build a fire…"

"Kairi…" Sora turned over and looked at her, "You can't sleep?"

"No… There's a rock digging into my back and it's so cold."

The boy stood up slowly. "Hold on…" He slowly stood up, gathering up some dry leaves and laying them down after clearing a patch of ground. Then he rolled up his jacket as a pillow. "Here you go. It may not be the best bed but it'll do."

"Thank you, Sora." She lay down on the bedding.

"You're still cold, though?" Kairi nodded before Sora laid down beside her. "Let me help." He wrapped his arm around her gently.

The princess blushed but settled down peacefully in his embrace. "Thank you, Sora."

"I promised I'd take care of you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did."

* * *

The others woke up in the morning's gray twilight. Lucy smiled happily, "Aww… look at them."

Lea chuckled, "I mean, they did say they were unofficially engaged. I guess they've decided to act like it."

There they were; Kairi and Sora lay side by side, and Sora's arm wrapped around the girl's waist.

The spiky-haired boy opened his eyes slowly. "Not a word." He frowned at the mischievous glances of his friends. "Now, what's for breakfast?"

"Apples, heigh-ho," Trumpkin sighed before turning to Peter, "I must say, you ancient kings and queens don't overfeed your courtiers."

The others chuckled. As they passed the fruit around, Sora took two and gently shook Kairi. She rolled over, looking up at him. "Good morning, Sora."

"Good morning, Kairi." He held out the apple, "Here's you some breakfast."

Riku and Lea watched them from the side, munching on their own apples. "So, what's with the sword? That's the only thing that's changed."

Lea smirked. "Dawn's Might. That's the symbol of their engagement. It means Kaname gave Sora permission to marry her."

Riku coughed, choking slightly on his apple. "Seriously!? I mean we heard them talking about the engagement thing, but this is serious."

"Yep."

"I suppose your Majesties know the way to… Aslan's How?"

"I don't," Susan huffed in annoyance, "I've never seen these woods before in my life before. In fact, I thought all along that we ought to have gone the way Trumpkin came."

"Then I think you might have said so at the time," Peter bit back.

"Oh, don't take any notice of her," Edmund came between his older siblings in an effort to calm them, "she's always a wet blanket. You've got that pocket compass of yours, Peter?" His brother nodded. "Well then, we're as right as rain. We've only got to keep on going northwest, cross that little river, then what do you call it… the Rush."

"I know," Peter sighed, "The one that joins the big river at the Fords of Beruna, or Beruna's Bridge, as Trumpkin calls it."

Riku closed his eyes, "Then, from what you said, we cross the river and head uphill, and we'll be at the Stone Table, or Aslan's How, by eight or nine o'clock."

"Maybe Caspian will give us a good breakfast."

Susan crossed her arms, "I hope you're right. I can't remember that all."

"That's the worst of girls," Edmund directed to the male members of the group, "they never carry a map in their heads."

Aqua narrowed her eyes. "That's because our heads have something inside them." The boys gave her a look as the girls giggled.

* * *

They struck off through the forest. Riku stepping in time with his best friend. "So, Lea told me about Dawn's Might."

"Oh," Sora smiled, his hand resting on the sword's hilt, "well, I guess it's not a secret anymore.

"No, it's no… wait!" Riku stopped, closed his eyes and listened. "Everyone, something is following us."

The group stopped, everyone tense and ready for anything. Suddenly, the brush parted and a large black creature leapt out, towering over Xion and Lucy.

There was a twang as Trumpkin drew back his bow and loosed an arrow, killing the beast before it could attack.

"A bear!"

"Are you two ok?"

"Yes…"

Xion leaned on Roxas's chest after her near-death experience. "I'm fine…"

"I'm surprised you didn't shoot him, Susan." Lea gestured to her. "You're the best shot here."

The girl seemed shaken by the adventure. "I… I left it too late. I was so afraid it might be, you know… one of our kind of bears, a talking bear."

"That's the trouble of it," the dwarf huffed, "when most of the beasts have gone enemy and gone dumb, but there are still some of the other kind left. You never know and you daren't wait to see."

Naminé looked at the dead best. "Do you think it was a talking bear?"

"Not he; I saw the face and I heard the snarl. He only wanted little girl for his breakfast." Trumpkin turned to the boys. "I must say, there's good eating on a bear. It would be a shame to leave the carcass without taking a bit, and it won't delay us more than half an hour. I dare say you, lads… I mean Kings and knights… know how to skin a bear?"

"Let's go sit down a fair way off," Susan looked to the other girls, "I know what a messy business that will be."

* * *

Later, they set off again; the girls seemed to shy away from the boys since all of them carried raw bear meat in their pockets since there was nothing else to carry it in.

After hours of walking, searching for the river Rush. Edmund growled in frustration "Where's that bally Rush got to?"

"I certainly thought we'd have struck it by now," Peter agreed with his brother.

"There's nothing to do but keep on." Lea rolled his shoulder and strode forward.

After a while, Peter, who walked in front, stopped. "What on earth!?" Without even noticing it, the group had come upon a cliff that looked down upon gorge with a river at the bottom. "I'm sorry," the high king hung his head, "it's my fault for coming this way. We're lost. I've never seen this place in my life before."

Susan crossed her arms. "Oh, do let's go back and go the other way. I knew all along we'd get lost in the woods."

"Susan!" Lucy bit back. "Don't nag at Peter like that. It's so rotten, and he's doing all he can."

"And don't you snap at Su like that, either." Edmund cut in. "I think she's quite right."

"Tubs and tortoiseshells!" Trumpkin cried out. "If we've got lost coming what chance have we of finding our way back?"

"If we go back to the island, Miraz would have already finished with Caspian before we arrived." Mickey looked down the gorge, searching for a way down.

"Then, we should keep going!"

"I don't think you're lost, Peter," Riku's eyes looked down at the river, brow furrowed in thought. "Why couldn't this be the Rush?"

"Because the Rush is not in a gorge."

"You say _is_ ," the Keyblade master turned to the king, "but you really should be saying _was_. When you were last here, it was hundreds, possibly thousands of years ago. The land would have changed. There could have been a landslide, an earthquake, or the river could have just eroded its banks creating this gorge."

Peter's eyes brightened with understanding. "Riku, you're a brick! Come on, then. Down this side of the gorge."

"Look! Look! Look!" Lucy cried out, eyes aglow.

"What? Where?"

"The Lion," Lucy beamed, "Aslan himself! Didn't you see?" Her face glowed with pure joy.

"Do you really mean…?"

Susan looked about, "Where did you think you saw him?"

"Don't talk like a grown-up. I didn't think I saw him. I saw him!"

Kairi held up her hands in a placating manner. "Where?"

"Right up there between those mountain ashes. No, this side of the gorge. And up, not down. Just the opposite of the way you want to go. And he wanted us to go where he was, up there."

"How do you know he wanted us to come to him?" Aqua asked the young queen.

"He… I… I just know… by his face."

The group looked at each other, puzzlement written clearly on each of their faces. "Her Majesty may have well seen a lion," Trumpkin cleared his throat. "There are lions in these woods, I've been told. But it needn't have been a friendly and talking lion any more than the bear was a friendly and talking bear."

Lucy glared at the dwarf. "Oh, don't be so stupid! Do you think I don't know Aslan when I seem him?"

"He'd be a pretty elderly lion by now," the dwarf chuckled, earning him some glares from those who knew Aslan, "if he's one you know when you were here before. And if it could be the same one, what's to prevent him from having gone wild and witless like so many others?"

Lucy, red with fury, looked ready to pounce upon the Trumpkin, but her eldest brother laid his hand upon her arm. "Trumpkin doesn't understand. How could he?" The high king turned to the dwarf, the air about him almost resonating with authority. "You must just take it, Trumpkin, that we do really know about Aslan, a little bit about him, I mean. And you mustn't talk about him like that again. It isn't lucky for one thing, and it's all nonsense for another."

"The only question is, was Aslan really there?"

"But I know he was!" Lucy began to tear up at their disbelief.

"Yes, Lu, but we don't, you see."

The younger king huffed, "There's nothing for it but a vote."

"All right," Peter nodded. "You're the eldest, Trumpkin. What do you vote for? Up or down?"

"Down." Trumpkin promptly replied. "I know nothing about Aslan; but I do know that if we turn left and follow the gorge up, it might lead us all day before we found a place to cross. Whereas we turn right and go down, we're bound to reach the Great River in a couple of hours. And if there are any real lion about, we want to go away from them, not towards them."

"Susan?"

The older queen took a breath, "Don't be angry, Lucy, but I do think we should go down. I'm dead tired. Do let's get out of this wretched wood into the open as quick as we can. Also, none of us except you saw anything."

"Edmund?"

"Well, there's just this," Edmund stood with his arms crossed, but a determined look on his face, "when we first discovered Narnia a year ago, or a thousand years ago, whichever it is… it was Lucy who discovered it first and none of us believed her. I know I was the worst of the lot, yet she was right after all. Wouldn't it be fair to believe her this time? I vote for going up."

"Riku?"

"I agree with Edmund… up."

"Lea?"

"I'm tired… down."

"Kairi?"

"Up!"

"Sora?"

"Up."

"Roxas?"

"Down."

"Xion?"

"Down."

"Naminé?"

"Up."

"Ven?"

"Up."

"Aqua?"

"Down."

"Mickey?"

"Down."

"Donald?"

"Down."

"Goofy?"

"Up."

A tie.

"And now it's your turn, Peter," Susan looked to her brother, the only one to break the tie, "and I do hope…"

Peter cut her off. "Oh, shut up, shut up and let a chap think. I'd much rather not vote."

"You're the high king…"

"And right now we're at a tie; you're the only one to break it…"

Peter thought long and hard before sighing. "Down… I know Lucy may be right after all, but I can't help it. We must do one or the other." With that, the group went down after Peter. Lucy came last, sobbing lightly.

"Kyokan!" Kairi called up to the Unversed, who stared up at where Lucy apparently saw Aslan. "Come!" The little creature hesitantly followed them.

* * *

The way was not as easy as it looked. Fir woods, broken cliffs, and other obstacles made their walk even more difficult. They eventually had to come out and walk along the edge of the gorge, through a thick wood, which made it even more difficult.

"At last!" The gorge made a bend and open country spread out below them.

"Thank goodness…"

Their pace quickened and the going became much easier. However, they did have to go through some more woods.

Sora stopped as a sound came to his ears. "HIT THE DECK!" He dropped to the ground, dragging Kairi and Roxas with him. Right where his head had been, an arrow stuck out from the tree.

Everyone else dropped to the ground and began crawling back uphill. Arrows whizzed overhead, some coming dangerously close to their heads.

Kairi saw sweat on Sora's serious face, and he looked far more serious than she'd seen him. He hurried everyone back through the woods until they all leaned against the side of the gorge.

"I hate arrows." The boy clutched his chest.

Kairi looked where his hand was still clutched. "I remember… That's where one the arrows shot you in Middle Earth." Sora nodded.

"You were shot with an arrow?"

Again, Sora nodded, smiling slightly as the Yenlow came up and licked his elbow. "Not _an_ arrow, I was shot by four, and I barely survived…"

"Oh, wow..." The others looked at the spiky-haired boy with sympathy, especially Riku and Lea who both remembered that incident.

"So, those men who shot at us are not searching the wood." Trumpkin sighed, trying to lighten the mood, "Only sentries, I expect. But it means that Miraz has an outpost down there. Bottle and battledores, though, it was a near thing."

"I ought to have my head smacked for bringing us this way at all," Peter stood and leaned on a rock.

Trumpkin stood as well, "On the contrary, your Majesty. For one thing, it was your royal brother, King Edmund, who first suggested going by Glasswater. And for another, if we'd gone my way, we'd have walked straight into that new outpost, most likely; or at least had just the same trouble avoiding it. I think this Glasswater route has turned out for the best."

"A blessing in disguise."

"Some disguise…"

Lucy sighed, "I suppose we'll have to go right up the gorge again now."

"Thank you, Lucy!" Lea cheered, "That's the closest you've gotten to saying 'I told you so'! Let's get moving!"

Donald huffed, "And as soon as we're well into the forest, no matter what anyone says, I'm lighting a fire so we can cook a good supper. But, we should get away from here."

They walked back up the gorge and into the wood above. Once, deep into the woods, they lit a fire. Trumpkin produced a wonderful supper; he took the apples and wrapped them in bear meat. Afterward, they all laid back and relaxed, hope rekindled in them at last.

* * *

Kairi awoke in the gray hours before dawn, nuzzled awake by Kyokan who stared off after Lucy. "What is it, Lucy?" Kairi stood and came to her side.

"Listen…"

They both listened as a deep, loving, gentle voice called out, "Lucy…" They looked around the moon so bright that they could see everything like day.

Kairi looked hard at a glade of trees a short distance away. "Lucy… the trees?"

"Yes, I do believe they're moving. They're walking about." The two went forward towards the moving trees. The trees moved in and out, like the steps of a complicated dance.

Neither of them were scared; Lucy was accustomed to the sight and Kairi had seen it before. Kyokan, who followed, was a little less enthusiastic. He yipped as trees moved around him. The first tree looked like an older man with a shaggy beard but when they looked again it looked like a moving oak tree. Every tree was like this, a person one moment, a tree the next.

"They're almost awake, not quite though."

They went into the trees having to jump around so that the trees wouldn't run into them; Kyokan eventually gave up and planted himself on Kairi's shoulder. The two pressed forward, for their true goal lay beyond the trees. Soon they came to a round clearing with the trees dancing around.

All else seemed to fade because, HE was there: the glorious Lion, shining in the moonlight. Both girls ran forward, crying, "Aslan!" They hugged him, burying their hands and faces in the warm golden mane. Kyokan stood to the back, stretching in the light that seemed to come from the lion himself.

The Lion rolled onto his side so that the girls fell between his front paws. His tongue touched their noses and they gazed up at the beautiful wise face. "Welcome children."

"Aslan," Lucy looked up, "you're bigger."

"That is because you are older."

"Not because you are?"

Aslan looked down at them, "I am not, but every year you grow, you will find me bigger. Lucy, Kairi, we must not lie here for long. You both have work in hand, and much time has been lost today."

"Yes, wasn't it a shame," the young queen huffed, "I saw you all right. They wouldn't believe me. They're all so…" The lion's chest rumbled as a faint growl came up from his throat. Lucy looked down in shame, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to start slanging the others but it wasn't my fault anyway, was it?"

Kairi watched as Aslan looked into the girl's eyes.

"Oh Aslan, you don't mean it was? How could I… I couldn't have left the others and come up to you alone, how could I? Don't look at me like that… oh well, I suppose I could. Kairi probably would have joined me and I wouldn't have been alone, not if I was with you. But what have been the good?"

Aslan was quiet.

"You mean, that it would have turned out all right, somehow? But how? Please, Aslan, am I not to know?"

The Lion looked at her gently, "To know what would have happened? No, nobody is ever told that."

"Well then…"

"But anyone can find out what will happen," Aslan stood, the girls following suit. "If you both go back to the others and wake them up; tell them you have seen me and that you must all get up at once and follow me… what will happen? There is only one way of finding out."

Kairi wrung her hands, "You want us to do this?"

"Yes, little ones."

"Will the others see you too?"

"Certainly not at first," Aslan told them, "Later on, it depends."

Lucy sighed, "But they won't believe us!"

"It doesn't matter."

Lucy looked at the floor, "Oh dear, and I was so pleased at finding you again, and I thought you'd let me stay. I thought you'd come roaring in and frighten all our enemies away, like last time. Now everything is going to be horrid."

"It is hard for you, little ones," the Lion gently told them, "But things never happen the same way twice. It has been hard for all in Narnia before now."

"I'm sorry Aslan… I'm ready now!"

"As am I!"

"Now you are lionesses! And now all Narnia will be renewed, but come, we have no time to lose."

He walked through the trees, with the hands of the girls on his mane. For a moment, the lion did stop to look down at the Unversed, who bowed his head in an almost surrendering manner before rolling onto his back(4). The trees parted for them. As they came to the camp, they stopped. "Now children, I will wait here. Go and wake the others and tell them to follow. If they will not, then you must follow me alone."

They both took a breath and strode forward. Lucy went to Peter first while Kairi went to Riku. "Riku, wake up. Aslan is here, he wants us to follow him now."

"Whatever you say…" he rolled over and went back to sleep.

Next, she tried Lea, "Kai… go back to sleep. You've been dreaming."

The princess watched at Lucy shook Edmund awake. The moment he heard that Aslan was here, he jumped to his feet. "Aslan! Where?"

"Over there." They pointed, where he stood, patiently waiting, Kyokan lying beside him, greatly dwarfed by the giant lion.

"Where?"

"Over there. Don't you see? Just on this side of the trees beside Kyokan."

The boy stared at the spot before shaking his head, "No. There's nothing there. You've got dazzled and muddled with the moonlight. One does, you know. I thought I saw something for a moment myself. It's only an optical what-do-you-call-it."

"Lucy," the Princess of Heart reminded, "remember, Aslan said the others might not be able to see him at first."

"Oh yes…"

"Why," Edmund raised an eyebrow.

"We don't know; that's just what he said."

"Oh bother it all," the young King shook his head, "I wish you wouldn't keep on seeing things, and now you're joining her. I suppose we'll have to wake the others. Everyone up! Get up!"

The group woke up, grumpy and annoyed and the girls explained their story again; the others stared at where Aslan stood.

"I can't see anything," Peter shook his head, "Can any of you?"

"No, of course, we can't."

"There's nothing to see."

"They've been dreaming."

"Let's just go back to sleep."

Kairi huffed, "Well I hope you'll all come because Lucy and I are going whether the rest of you do or not."

"Oh no you're not," Lea cut in.

"Oh yes… we will."

Edmund came forward. "I'll go with them if they must go."

"Sora and I will as well." Riku added. "Kairi isn't one to just make stuff up, and Lucy has been right before."

"I know she has." Peter conceded. "And Lucy may have been right this morning. We certainly had no luck going down the gorge. Still… at this hour of the night, and why should Aslan be invisible to us? He never used to be; it's not like him. What do you say Trumpkin?"

The dwarf stepped forward, "Oh, I say nothing at all. If you all go, of course, I'll go with you, and if the party splits up, I'll go with the High King. That's my duty to him and King Caspian. However, if you as my private opinion, I'm a plain dwarf who doesn't think there's much chance of finding a road by night where you couldn't find one by day. Also, I have no use for magic lions which are talking lions and don't talk, and friendly lions though they don't do us any good, and whopping big lions though nobody can see them. It's all bilge and beanstalks as far as I can see."

"Um," Kairi timidly said, "He's beating his paw on the ground for us to hurry. We must go now."

The others looked at her in shock; Kairi didn't act like this unless she was very serious. Edmund crossed his arms, "Oh, come on, we've got to go. There'll be no peace till we do."

"On the march then…" The group gathered up their stuff and followed Lucy and Kairi as they followed the Great Lion. The girls giggling as Kyokan, confident that Aslan wouldn't eat him, weaved in and out between the paws of the lion.

They approached the edge of the gorge and Aslan turned and went downward; from their angle, it looked like he went straight over the edge. The girls came quickened their pace and followed him.

"Lucy! Kairi! Look out! You're right on the edge!" Sora ran forward before stopping. "Well look at that… there's a path."

He, Edmund, and Riku caught up with the girls. They stopped before the river as Aslan crossed, stopping for a drink in the middle. "Aslan!" Edmund cried out, "He's here!"

Riku stared at the Lion in admiration. "Aslan…"

"Wow…" Sora gaped at the wondrous sight, "That's Aslan…"

"Peter, don't you see him?"

The High King scrunched his face, "I thought I saw something, but it's so tricky in this light."

As they continued on, one-by-one, everyone saw Aslan. He led them up the other side of the gorge and, just as the sun peaked over the horizon, they came out of the gorge, to the very hill they had been trying to reach from the beginning: the hill of the Stone Table. They reached the mound known as Aslan's How and the Lion stopped.

He turned about, facing them; they all strode forward, except for Trumpkin, who shrunk back at the sight of Aslan.

"Oh Aslan," the high king dropped to one knee, "I'm so glad and I'm so sorry. I've been leading them wrong since we started and especially yesterday morning."

"My dear son…" The Lion's face was kind and understanding. The Highest of all High Kings turned to the younger brother, "Edmund, well done." Then to the older queen, he said, "Susan, you have listened to your fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you…" His warm, comforting breath surrounded the girl, causing her to relax. "Forget your fears. Are you brave again?"

"A little, Aslan."

Aslan's face turned towards Sora and his friends, "Heroes of the Realm of Light, welcome, and well done." They all nodded to him, kindly, even their Unversed companion looked proud.

"And now!" His voice grew louder, almost to a roar. "And now, where is this little Dwarf, this famous swordsman and archer, who does not believe in lions? Come here, Son of Earth, come HERE!"

"Wraiths and wreckage…!" Trumpkin shook with fright, his voice barely above a whisper.

Those who knew Aslan could see that he liked the dwarf, but Trumpkin felt just the opposite. He tottered towards the Lion, scared out of his wits.

Aslan pounced, catching the dwarf in his mouth, holding him like a mother cat would carry her kitten. Trumpkin hung in a miserable ball from Aslan's mouth; the Lion playfully shook him and threw him into the air. As he fell, Aslan caught him gently and set him upright.

"Now, Son of Earth, shall we be friends?"

"Ye…he…he…hes…" The others chuckled at Trumpkin's reaction.

"Now," Aslan became serious. "The moon is setting. Look behind you; there is the dawn beginning. We have no time to lose. You, Sons of Adam, and that includes you, Warriors of Light, Son of Earth, hasten into the mound and deal with what you will find there."

The boys all drew their weapons and charged into the mound, leaving the girls and Kyokan alone with Aslan. In the growing dawn, the girls watched as Aslan raised his head skyward, letting out a roar that shook the earth and sky. From every direction, a dark mass rushed towards the hill. "Are those?"

"Trees?"

A mass of woods came towards them, but as they drew nearer, they looked more like people, but strange leafy people. It was the Dryads, Hamadryads, and Silvans; they surrounded the group, dancing about.

In the confusion, a group of people appeared from the trees: a wild-looking boy along with some equally wild-looking girls and a fat man on a donkey. The wild boy and girls gave wild cries that filled the air. The girls joined the romp, not wanting to keep out of it. Kyokan danced on his hind paws.

As it continued, more and more vine leaves filled the area, and then the vines began producing grapes by the thousands. Everyone ate, and laughed, and played about until, at the same moment, they all felt it was time for the feast to end. The group plopped down on the grass and waited for Aslan's words.

Lucy looked over at the other girls, "I say, I know who those others are."

"Who?"

"The boy with the wild face is Bacchus and the old one on the donkey is Silenus. Susan, don't you remember Mr. Tumnus telling us about them?"

"Yes of course!"

Naminé looked at Bacchus and his wild girls, "I have to say, I probably wouldn't feel very safe if I'd met them without Aslan."

`"That we all can agree on."

* * *

The group trudged through the dark mound, no one stopping them but two sentinel badgers, who quickly let them pass. Trumpkin led the way as they approached a door, with light streaming from underneath.

They heard voices from inside, angry voices. "I don't like the sound of that…"

"Let's listen for a moment."

A young man's voice came to them first; Trumpkin identified him as King Caspian. "You know well enough why the Horn was not blown at sunrise this morning. Have you forgotten that Miraz fell upon us almost before at Trumpkin had gone, and we were fighting for our lives for the space of three hours and more? I blew it when I first had breathing space."

"I'm not likely to forget it," an angry voice retorted. The black dwarf, Nikabrik, "when my dwarfs bore the brunt of the attack and one in five of them fell."

"For shame dwarf!" A thick voice bit back; the talking badger, Trufflehunter. "We all did as much as the dwarfs and none more than the King."

"Tell that tale your own way for all I care, but whether it was that the Horn was blown too late, or whether there was no magic in it, no help has come. You, you great clerk, you master magician, you know-all; are you still asking us to hang our hopes on Aslan and King Peter and the rest of it?"

"I must confess… I cannot deny it… that I am deeply disappointed in the result of the operation." This voice was older and belonged to Caspian's mentor, Doctor Cornelius.

"To speak plainly," Nikabrik growled, "your wallet's empty, your eggs addled, your fish uncaught, your promises broken. Stand aside then and let others work. And that is why…"

"The help will come!" Trufflehunter put in, "I stand by Aslan. Have patience, like us beasts. The help will come. It may be even now at the door."

Lea chuckled. "He has no idea…"

Nikabrik scoffed. "Pah! You badgers would have us wait till the sky falls and we can all catch larks. I tell you we can't wait. Food is running short; we lose more than we can afford at every encounter; our followers are slipping away."

"And why? I'll tell you why. Because it is noised among them that we have called on the Kings of old and the Kings of old have not answered. The last words Trumpkin spoke before you went were, 'If you must blow the Horn, do not let the army know why you blow it or what you hope from it.' However that same evening everyone seemed to know."

"You'd better have shoved your grey shout in a hornets' nest, badger than suggest that I am the blab." the black dwarf spat. "Take it back or…"

"Oh, stop it, both of you!" Caspian interrupted. "I want to know what it is that Nikabrik keeps on hinting we should do. But before that, I want to know who those three strangers are whom he has brought into our council and who stand there with their ears open and their mouths shut."

"They are friends of mine, and what better right have you yourself to be here than that you are a friend of Trumpkin's and the badger's. And what right has that dotard in the black gown to be here except that he's your friend? Why am I to be the only one who can't bring in his friends?"

Donald narrowed his eyes. Since Caspian was the king, Nikabrik should treat him with way more respect.

The dwarf continued on. "In this hole, we may talk plainly. You know, and he knows, that this Telmarine boy will be king of nowhere and nobody in a week unless we can help him out of the trap in which he sits."

"Perhaps," Doctor Cornelius sighed, "your new friends would like to speak for themselves? You there, who and what are you?"

A thin, female voice whined. "Worshipful Master Doctor, so please you, I'm only a poor old woman, I am, and very obliged to his worshipful dwarfship for his friendship, I'm sure. His Majesty, bless his handsome face, has no need to be afraid of an old woman that's nearly doubled up with the rheumatics and hasn't two sticks to put under her kettle. I have some poor little skill… not like yours, Master Doctor, of course… in small spells and cantrips that I'd be glad to use against our enemies if it was agreeable to all concerned. For I hate 'em. Oh, yes, no one hates better than me."

"That is all most interesting and eh… satisfactory." The doctor sounded suspicious, and no one could blame him. "I think I now know what you are, madam. Perhaps, one of your other friends, Nikabrik, would like to give an account of themselves?"

A dull, gravelly voice, that made the flesh crawl, spoke. "I'm hunger. I'm thirst. Where I bite, I hold till I die, and even after death they must cut out my mouthful from my enemy's body and bury it with me. I can fast a hundred years and not die. I can lie a hundred nights on ice and not freeze. I can drink a river of blood and not burst. Show me your enemies."

"That guy sounds creepy…"

Caspian sounded a bit stunned himself. "And who is your other friend?"

"I command creatures that walk in darkness, and I wield a blade that has almost no equal."

Ven looked to the others with wide eyes. "I'd know that voice anywhere!"

"It's…"

"Terranort…" Riku turned to Peter and the others. "Listen; there's a man in there with silver hair. When we go in, we must not kill him; he is a friend that an enemy of ours is controlling. We have to capture him! It might be the only way to bring him back."

"We understand."

Caspian continued to speak to Nikabrik. "And it is in the presence of these three that you wish to disclose your plan?"

"Yes, and by their help that I mean to execute it."

There was a moment or two, during which they could hear Caspian and the two on his side speaking in low voices. The young Narnian king spoke out again. "Well, Nikabrik, we'll hear your plan."

The long silence that followed found itself cut off by Nikabrik's voice. "All said and done, none of us knows the truth about the ancient days in Narnia. Trumpkin believed none of the stories; I was ready to put them to the trial. We tried first the Horn and it has failed. If there ever was a High King Peter and a Queen Susan and a King Edmund and a Queen Lucy, they either have not heard us, or they cannot come, or they are our enemies…"

"Or they are on the way." Trufflehunter cut in.

The dwarf's voice turned to a snarl. "You can go on saying that till Miraz has fed us all to his dogs. As I was saying, we have tried one link in the chain of old legends, and it has done us no good. Well, when your sword breaks, you draw your dagger. The stories tell of other powers beside the ancient Kings and Queens. How if we could call them up?"

Trufflehunter sighed, sounding very exasperated. "If you mean Aslan it's all one calling on him and on the kings. They were his servants; if he will not send them (and I make no doubt he will), is he more likely to come himself?"

"No, you're right there." the dwarf agreed. "Aslan and the Kings go together; either Aslan is dead, or he is not on our side, or something stronger than himself keeps him back. If he did come… how do we know he'd be our friend? He was not always a good friend to dwarfs by all that's told; not even to all beasts, ask the wolves. And anyway, he was in Narnia only once that I heard of, and he didn't stay long. You may drop Aslan out of the equation; I was thinking of someone else."

All was quiet until Caspian spoke. "Who do you mean?"

"I mean a power so much greater than Aslan's that it held Narnia spellbound for years and years if the stories are true."

"THE WHITE WITCH!" It sounded as if the three against the dwarf, all leapt to their feet. Riku and Lea gasped, as did the two Kings.

"Yes, I mean the Witch." Nikabrik spoke slowly, his words taking effect. "Sit down; don't all take fright at a name as if you were children. We want power and we want a power that will be on our side; do not all the stories say that the Witch defeated Aslan, bound him, and killed him on that very Stone that sits over there, just beyond the light?"

"But they also say he came to life again!"

The dwarf snarled. "Yes, they _say_ but you'll notice that we hear precious little about anything he did afterward; he just fades out of the story. How do you explain that, if he really came back to life? Isn't if much more likely that he didn't, and that the stories say nothing more about him because there was nothing more to say?"

"He established the kings and queens!"

"A King who just won a great battle can establish himself without the help of a performing lion." A loud growl came from Trufflehunter before the dwarf continued on. "And anyway, what came of the Kings and their reign? They faded too, but it's very different with the witch. They say she ruled for a hundred years: a hundred years of winter! There's power if you like; there's something practical. And my silver-haired friend here can make her even more powerful than she was before, as a Heartless."

Caspian cried out. "But, haven't we always been told she was the worst enemy of all? Wasn't she a tyrant ten times worse than Miraz?"

"Perhaps she was for you humans if there were any of you in those days. Perhaps she was for some of the beasts; she stamped out the beavers, I dare say. At least there are none of them in Narnia now. She got on all right with us dwarfs; I'm a dwarf and I stand by my own people. We're not afraid of the Witch!"

"But you've joined us!"

Nikabrik snapped. "Yes, and a lot of good it has done my people, so far. Who is sent on all the dangerous raids? The dwarfs! Who goes short when the rations fail? The dwarfs! Who…"

"Lies! All lies!"

"And so," the dwarf's voice lowered to a dark whisper, "if you can't help my people, I'll go to someone who can."

"Is this open treason, dwarf?" By the sounds, Caspian had drawn his sword.

"Put that sword back in its sheath, Caspian." Nikabrik's voice, nothing but a low snarl now, barely reached the ears of the group outside. "Don't be fool enough to try it. Do you think I'm afraid of you? There's four on my side and only three on yours."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Doctor Cornelius cut in before the situation could escalate. "You go on too fast. What does Nikabrik mean by calling on the Witch? The Witch is dead; all the stories agree on that."

"Is she…?" Terranort sounded less-than-interested in the situation.

The thin female voice spoke once again. "Oh, bless his heart, his dear little Majesty needn't mind about the White Lady being dead. The Worshipful Master Doctor is only making game of a poor old woman like me when he says that. Sweet Master Doctor, who ever heard of a witch who really died? You can always get them back."

"Call her up," the other voice said, "We are all ready. Draw the circle; prepare the blue fire."

Caspian's voice rose like thunder. "So that is your plan, Nikabrik! Black sorcery and the calling up of an accursed ghost. I see who two of your companions are… a Hag(5) and a Werewolf!" The room broke out in noise as the fighting began. The boys burst in the door, joining the fray.

Riku spotted Terranort on the other side of the room. the Keyblade Master leapt over the table towards him, accidentally knocking over the only light in the room. Just as he bashed Terranort over the head, the candle went out, plunging the room into darkness.

* * *

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) He raised Rimi like she was his own daughter.

(2) In the Training Series, which prequels this story, Riku, Lea, and Kairi visited Narnia.

(3) Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy's appearances are the movie looks.

(4) Dogs do this to tell a bigger dog not to harm them, that they give up.

(5) A hag in mythology could be many different things. In some stories, a hag was a witch. In others, she was a spirit that would freeze men in sleep (what we know now to be sleep paralysis).

* * *

 **Strength**

How often do we feel strong?

I don't mean physically.

How often do we feel strong enough to take on the burdens of our life, to fight for what we love, to just get through a hard day?

I know that I don't feel strong some days. There are some things that we cannot do alone. I think we all understand that sometimes. That there are just things we can't do alone. So, we ask for help.

We ask friends or family to help us, to give us a hug when we need it. To make us feel safe and like we can get through the situations. And this is a great thing. I do it all the time.

But, besides those people, if we ask God he will help. All we have to do is ask for the help and strength to get through hard times.


	42. Chapter 42: Narnia- Savior

**I updated fast, I know!**

 **After this, things are gonna get crazy! I mean, if you thought things were crazy before, get ready.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

* * *

 **Chapter 42: Narnia- Savior**

* * *

The battle continued in the dark, no one quite knowing what happened until all eventually went quiet.

"Is everyone all right?"

"I think so…"

Edmund called out, "I've got that brute Nikabrik, but he's still alive."

"Weights and water-bottles," came an angry voice, "It's me you're sitting on. Get off! You're like a young elephant."

"Oh, sorry Trumpkin…" the young king stood up, "Is that better?"

"Ow! No! You're putting your boot in my mouth!"

Mickey called out, "Is King Caspian anywhere?"

"I'm here… something bit me."

Lea held up his hand, lighting up the room slightly where he could see Edmund's face in the dim light. He stumbled about until he found the candle and lit it. They all blinked in the light and could all see the figures in the room. The badger must have been Trufflehunter; a short, stout older man with a long beard stood up near the body of the Hag, Doctor Cornelius. Sora and Roxas were helping up a boy about Riku's age with sandy blonde hair; the boy, who must have been Caspian, clutched his arm, which was bleeding.

"We don't seem to have any enemies left," Peter glanced around, "there's the Hag, Nikabrik, and there's the werewolf. It's so long since I've seen one; wolf's head and man's body, which means he was just turning from man to wolf at the moment he was killed. Your friend… how is he?"

Riku sat by the crumpled body of Terranort. "He's fine… just unconscious. Actually, we're gonna need a lot of rope. We have to tie him up tight and keep a guard on him at all times." Sitting the unconscious boy up, Riku took some rope from Trumpkin and bound Terranort.

As he tied up the man, Peter looked at the boy with Roxas and Sora. "You, I suppose, are King Caspian."

"Yes," the boy said, "but I've no idea who you are."

"It's the High King, King Peter."

The young King knelt before Peter. "Your Majesty is very welcome."

"And so is your Majesty." the high king smiled. "I haven't come to take your place, you know, but to put you into it."

Sora turned to Ven, who watched as Riku tied Terranort securely. "Are you worried?"

"Yes… we have to help him."

"We'll have to help him while we're here." Riku said calmly. "To move him would be too dangerous. If we move him, there's a better chance of him escaping and causing trouble."

"So, we have to bring him back, somehow and there's no leaving this world until we do."

Goofy came over to him. "Hey, they're serving us breakfast!"

* * *

After the meal, Peter sat up straight. "Now, Aslan and the girls are somewhere close. We don't know when he will act, in his time, no doubt, not ours. In the meantime, he would like us to do what we can on our own."

"Caspian," Mickey said, "you say that we are not strong enough to meet Miraz in pitched battle."

"I'm afraid not." The boy King seemed tongue-tied in the presence of the high king of old.

Peter closed his eyes in resolve. "Very well, then, I'll send him a challenge to a single combat."

The group stared at him, in surprise. "That's a good idea!"

"Please," Caspian pleaded, "could it not be me? I want to avenge my father."

"You're wounded, and besides, would he not laugh at a challenge from you. I mean, we have seen that you are a king and a warrior but he thinks of you as a kid."

"But Peter," Lea asked, "would he accept a challenge from you? He has the stronger army and he knows it."

"Very likely he won't, but there's always the chance."

Riku agreed. "Even if he doesn't, we'll spend most of the day sending heralds to and fro. Aslan might have done something by then."

"At least I can inspect the army and strengthen the position. I will send the challenge. Have you pen and ink, Master Doctor?"

"A scholar is never without them, Your Majesty. Doctor Cornelius pulled out a feather pen and paper. Dipping it in the ink, the older man waited, ready to write down exactly what the High King said.

Peter closed his eyes before speaking, using wording he hadn't used since he reigned at Cair Paravel. " _Peter, by the gift of Aslan, by election, by prescription, and by conquest, High King over all Kings in Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Islands and Lord of Cair Paravel, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Lion, to Miraz, Son of Caspian the Eighth, sometime Lord Protector of Narnia and now styling himself King of Narnia, Greeting._

 _For to prevent the effusion of blood, and for the avoiding of all other inconveniences likely to grow from the wars now levied in our realm of Narnia , it is our pleasure to adventure our royal person on behalf of our trusty and well-beloved Caspian in clean wager of battle to prove upon your Lordship's body that the said Caspian is lawful King under us in Narnia both by our gift and by the laws of the Telmarines, and your Lordship twice guilty of treachery both in withholding the dominion of Narnia from the said Caspian and in the most abominable, bloody, and unnatural murder of your kindly lord and brother King Caspian Ninth of that name. Wherefore we most heartily provoke, challenge, and defy your Lordship to the said combat and monomachy, and have sent these letters by the hand of our well-beloved and royal brother Edmund, sometime King under us in Narnia, Duke of Lantern Waste and Count of the Western March, Knight of the Noble Order of the Table, to whom we have given full power of determining with your Lordship all the conditions of the said battle. Given at our lodging at Aslan's How this XII day of the month Greenroof in the first year of Caspian Tenth of Narnia."_ The High King sighed, "That ought to do."

"That has to be the most eloquent battle challenge I've ever heard." Lea gave a low whistle.

Mickey, who knew how this procedure went, spoke to the High King. "Two others should go with your brother."

"Yes," Peter agreed, "I think the giant ought to be one."

"He's not very clever, you know…"

"Of course not," Peter chuckled lightly, "But any giant looks impressive if only he will keep quiet. Now, who for the other?"

Trufflehunter smiled. "Send Glenstorm, Sire; no one ever laughed at a centaur."

"Very well then…"

* * *

Edmund went off, delivering the challenge; the others waited. The room became silent as Terranort stirred. Riku drew his Keyblade as the prisoner's golden eyes opened, his gaze quickly becoming a glare.

"My, my," Lea chuckled, "how the tables have turned…"

"Don't mock him." Riku looked down at Terranort's slight smirk before answering. "And I don't say that out of fear, but because he is not truly our enemy. He is a friend under the control of a psychotic old man, and we're here to help him."

"You'll never help Terra… his heart belongs to darkness."

The Keyblade Master glared. "So did mine, once, but look at me now."

The prisoner just rolled his eyes. "You may have escaped, but Terra's heart was, and still is, weak."

"His heart is not weak!" Ven yelled until Peter placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

Sora crossed his arms, eyes locked on Terranort. "Well, if you're feeling so chatty, tell us what you're doing here."

"I don't think…" The young man closed his eyes as his face contorted in pain. When his eyes opened again, one was still gold, while the other was a faded blue.

"Terra…?"

His voice became strained. "Master Xehanort… he… he… he sent me to… to turn… the White Witch… in… into… a Heartless…"

His eyes closed again and reopened golden again. "That meddlesome…"

"What were you saying about having a 'weak heart'?"

"I have nothing more to say…"

Lea rolled his eyes. "Good… we don't wanna hear you anyway."

The door opened, revealing Edmund. "We set up the combat; we're gonna need three marshals. Miraz's men are going to supply the other three."

"Who could be the other marshals?"

"I will!" Caspian cut in.

Peter shook his head. "I'm sorry, you can't be a marshal; it's your right to the throne we're fighting for."

"Your Majesty, please," an older, talking, bear lumbered forward, "I'm a bear, I am."

"To be sure, so you are, and a good bear too, I don't doubt"

"Yes," the bear said, "but it was always a right of the bears to supply one marshal of the lists."

"Don't let him! He's a good creature, but he'll shame us all. He'll go to sleep and he will suck his paws; in front of the enemy too." Trumpkin groaned.

The High King held up a hand. "I can't help that, because he's quite right. The bears had that privilege. I can't imagine how it has been remembered all these years when so many other things have been forgotten."

"Please, your Majesty…"

"It is your right, and you shall be one of the marshals." Peter smiled. "However, you must remember not to suck your paws."

"Yes, Your Majesty." the bear said, though his paw was in his mouth.

Roxas pointed. "Uh, you're doing it now…"

"I am not!"

"Sire!" a shrill voice came from the ground.

The group looked down and saw a silvery-furred mouse, about Mickey's size. Peter smiled. "Ah, Reepicheep!"

"Sire," the mouse bowed, "My life is ever at your command, but my honor is my own. Sire, I have among my people the only trumpeter in your Majesty's army. I had thought, we might have been sent with the challenge; Sire, my people are grieved. Perhaps if it were your pleasure that I should be a marshal of the lists, it would content them." This mouse was smaller than Mickey and no Keyblade wielder; Lea and Roxas slightly chuckled at his proposal but regained straight faces as Reepicheep looked their way.

"I'm afraid it would not do," Peter replied, "Some humans are afraid of mice…"

"I have observed it, Sire…"

Riku sighed. "It wouldn't be fair to Miraz if he's afraid of mice."

"Yes," the High King agreed, "we can't have anything in sight that might abate the edge of his courage."

The mouse bowed admirably. "Your Majesty is the mirror of honor and on this matter, we have by a single mind. I thought I heard someone laughing just now; if anyone present wishes to make me the subject of his wit, I am very much at his service… with my sword… whenever he has leisure."

Lea and Roxas backed away, their eyes widening at the threat. Mickey sighed. "Well then, the marshals are Giant Wimble-weather, the bear, and Glenstorm the centaur."

Peter took command. "The combat will be at two hours after noon; dinner at noon precisely."

"I say," Edmund sighed as all but the Keybearers left them, "I suppose it is all right; I mean, I suppose you can beat him?"

"That's what I'm fighting him to find out."

Lea clapped him on the back. "Don't worry, Peter. You fought the White Witch when you barely knew how to handle a sword; you can take this guy!"

"Now, we just need someone to watch HIM during this single combat." Riku looked over at Terranort.

"I'll do it!" Ven approached quickly. "I'll guard him. If he tries to get into my head or cause trouble, I'll cast Sleepza to stop him."

"You sure?"

The boy nodded; Mickey came up beside him with a smile. "I'll stay with him, in case of emergency."

"All right then."

* * *

The Narnians, along with the Keybearers, stood before a roped off area before the woods. Miraz's entire army stood across the way from them; the marshals for the Telmarines were two officers and another soldier.

Closer to them stood the giant Wimble-weather; across from him stood the bear, who stood sucking his paws and looking incredibly silly. Glenstorm stood on the side, easily intimidating his Telmarine counterpart on the other side of the arena.

Peter approached the combat arena. The horrible feeling in the air filled the entire area, making it feel like the moment before the beginning of a very important race.

"Dang! I wish Aslan came back before it came to this…"

Trufflehunter smiled before turning back. "So do I, but look behind you."

They all turned around; Riku and Lea's faces broke into huge grins. "Oh man! The woods are coming!" The entire forest of Narnia seemed to be coming at them; each tree looked less like a tree and more like a giant or giantess.

"The Dryads and Hamadryads and Silvans," the talking badger exclaimed, "Aslan has wakened them."

"That'll be very useful if the enemy try any treachery, but it won't help the High King very much if Miraz proves handier with his sword."

Silence fell as Miraz and Peter entered the arena. Miraz happened to be an older man but seemed skilled as a swordsman.

The two shook hands and spoke. The swords flashed in the light, clashing. Riku cringed. "Peter's taking some hard knocks."

The two pulled back before going back at it, circling around each other, trying to get under the defenses of the others. The Narnians cheered suddenly.

"What? What happened?" Doctor Cornelius exclaimed, "My old eyes missed it."

Caspian seemed excited. "The High King pricked Miraz in the armpit, just where the arm-hole of the hauberk let the point through… first blood."

"It's looked ugly again, though," the younger king seemed nervous. "Peter's not using his shield properly; he must me hurt in the left arm." The Keybearers all noticed the High King's left arm hung limp.

Now, the Telmarines shouted in excitement. "Is there any hope now…?"

"Precious little…"

"Why did we let this happen at all."

The cheering died away as the two parted. "Good… they've agreed to rest."

The High King came over to them; Edmund, Doctor Cornelius, and the Keybearers gathered around. "Is your arm wounded?"

"It's not exactly a wound," Peter grunted, "I got the full weight of his shoulder on my shield, like a load of bricks, and the rim of the shield drove into my wrist."

Donald raised his wand, but Sora stopped him. "We can't heal him. It would be an unfair advantage on our part."

"Yes," agreed Peter, "I don't think my wrist is broken, but it might be a sprain. If you could tie it up very tight, I think I could manage."

As the doctor tied up his wrist, Riku looked at the High King. "So, what do you think?"

"He's tough… very tough. I have a chance if I can keep him on the hop until his weight and short wind come against him. Truthfully, I haven't much chance else. Ed, give my love to everyone at home… if he gets me."

"He's coming back into the ring…"

Peter stood back up. "Goodbye, my friends; you've all be a great help. Please, say something nice to Trumpkin, he's been a brick."

None of them answered; the sick feeling in their stomachs, preventing them from speaking. Peter stepped into the ring and the fight began anew; this round went a lot smoother. The High King bounced around, making Miraz work for his footing. He kept on bouncing around, slightly out of range of Miraz's strikes. The Telmarines jeered, mocking him, belittling him.

"I hope he won't listen to them…"

"He won't…"

"Oh!" Miraz landed a blow on Peter's steel helmet, causing him to fall to the ground. The Telmarine King came to slash at the High King, but the blow glanced off his shoulder.

"Wholly Cow!"

The group shouted in elation as Peter suddenly got back on his feet. "How the heck did he do that?"

Trumpkin danced in delight. "He grabbed Miraz's arm as it came down!"

"That's how you do it! Using his enemy's arm as a ladder! The High King! The High King!"

"Look! Miraz is angry. That's good." Trufflehunter studied the battle.

Now, the two hacked at each other; the excitement grew with every second. The cheering died away, so only the grunts of the combatants and the clash of steel could be heard. The Narnians cheered wildly. Miraz lay on the ground, not from Peter's blow, but from tripping. Peter stood back and waited for him to rise.

"He's just waiting for him to stand?"

Edmund sighed. "I suppose he must. Comes from being a knight and a King."

"Aslan would probably do that."

Donald huffed. "Well, Miraz will be up in a minute."

Miraz never rose. Out of nowhere, one of the captains, serving as one of the marshals, called out. "Treachery! The Narnian traitor has stabbed out King in the back while he lay helpless! To arm! Telmar, to arms!"

Three soldiers leapt into the arena before Peter cried. "To arms, Narnia! Treachery!"

As Riku ran forward, with the entire Narnian army behind him, he watched one of the Telmarine captains stabbed Miraz in the back, killing him where he lay. Just as he began slashing at their enemies, a man in front of him grabbed his foot, howling in pain. The silver-haired boy looked down and saw a dozen talking mice, led by Reepicheep. "Reepicheep! Get back here! This is no place for you!" But, the mice were gone.

Before the Narnian side really warmed to their work, the Telmarines all stopped, threw down their weapons, and fled. All screamed in terror. "THE WOODS! THE WOODS! IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!"

The sounds of battle faded as the sounds of the woods took over; clashing metal was replaced with the rustling of trees. The dryads flooded through the armies, driving the enemy towards the town of Beruna.

It looked like they planned on getting across the bridge and barricading themselves in the town. The Telmarines stopped at the river, horror filling their faces.

"Uh," Lea raised an eyebrow at this and one other thing, "where's the bridge?"

* * *

Earlier that day, while the boys ate in the how, the girls all started to awaken. Once they all awoke, a shadow fell over them… it was Aslan.

They looked around; Bacchus and the wild girls remained, as did Silenus, but the trees were gone, moving towards Aslan's How in a large mass. The Lion's voice flowed through the air. "We will make a holiday."

"A holiday?"

Bacchus and the girls acted like it was just that, jumping about, cheering, and playing instruments. Non-talking animals came up from all directions, surrounding them, prancing about.

It made all the girls want to dance, and they at least got to their feet. Aslan looked at the two Queens. "Susan, Lucy, ride on my back again today."

"Oh! Lovely!" Lucy gasped as the two climbed onto his back. "Oh, do you guys mind?"

"We'll run; it'll still be fun!" Aqua smiled, bowing her head respectfully at the Queens.

The entire party moved towards the town of Beruna; the Keybearers jogging along, laughing the whole way. They came upon the Rush, crossing before the town of Beruna.

Before they crossed the bridge, a great shaggy head rose from the water. A deep voice came from the figure. "Hail, Lord, loose my chains."

"Who is that?" Naminé asked.

"I think it's the river-god."

"Bacchus," Aslan called out, "Deliver him from his chains!"

"Huh?"

Aqua leaned over to her fellow Keybearers, "I'm guessing that means the bridge."

Indeed it did; the wild-boy and his wild-girls splashed into the river. A moment later, strong trunks of ivy wrapped around the bridge, snapping the wood until the entire bridge collapsed into the water.

"Hurrah! It's the Ford of Beruna again!" Lucy cheered. They splashed through the ford after Aslan, cheering and laughing the entire way through. The party bounced through the town, making a joyous noise; all the animals in town, came after them, making the happiest noises they could. Most of the people fled but a few joined them.

They left the town a larger and merrier company. Across the land they went, most people fleeing, a few joining.

They soon came to the town of Beaversdam, and the story was the same. Right on the outskirts of town, the came to a stop. A little house stood near the river and a girl sat on the front steps crying.

Aslan approached. "Why are you crying, my love?"

"Auntie's very ill," the child did not seem frightened by him, "she's going to die."

The Great Lion walked forward as if to go through the front door, but it was much too small for him. His head went through, but the rest of him wouldn't fit. Aslan pushed up with his shoulders, causing Susan and Lucy to fall off; the Lion lifted the entire house off its foundations, causing it to fall back and apart.

Lying in a bed lay a little old woman; she looked like she lay at death's door. Her eyes opened to reveal the great golden head of the lion. "Aslan… I knew it was true. I've been waiting for this day all my life. Have you come to take me away?"

"Yes, dearest, but not the long journey yet. As he spoke, the color came back to the woman's face.

"Why, I do declare I feel better. I think I could take a little breakfast this morning."

Bacchus dipped a pitcher into a well and handed it to Xion, who handed it to the woman, "Here you are, Miss."

The woman smiled as she drank it, "Oh, you've done something to our well. That makes a nice change that does." She jumped out of the bed.

"Ride on me." Aslan told her gently. "Susan, Lucy, you two queens will have to run now."

"We'd like that just as well!"

The crew went off again, singing, dancing, and leaping about. They finally returned to Beruna, where the Telmarines stood, throwing down their weapons and surrendering.

"Are you kidding me?"

Roxas crossed his arms. "So, you girls had a party and let us do the dirty work… how sweet of you…"

"You guys won, didn't you?" Xion winked at him as she passed.

Kairi went to Sora, "That's my hero…"

"I hope you didn't have all the fun without me."

"Of course not."

Aqua watched as all the Narnians gathered about Aslan, her eyes briefly noticed Riku looking at her as if he wanted to tell her something important.

"Aslan!" Lea and Peter brought… no dragged, Caspian to the Lion. "This is Caspian, Sir."

Said boy knelt, kissing the Lion's paw. "Welcome, Prince! Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?"

"I… I don't think I do," Caspian stuttered, "I mean… I'm only a kid."

"Good! If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been a proof that you were not." The Lion's voice rose, "Therefore, under us and under the High King, you shall be King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Emperor of the Lone Islands! You and your heirs while your race lasts, and your coronation… what have we here?"

All eyes looked down and saw a procession of woebegone mice, six of which carried a litter of branches with a damp heap of fur atop it. That heap was all that was left of Reepicheep; the mouse was more dead than alive. Many wounds marred his body, one paw lay crushed, and his tail was no more than a bandaged stump.

"Lucy…"

The youngest Queen ran over, pulling out her bottle of magic cordial. The wounds only needed one drop per wound, but there were so many that it took so long. Once she finished, the mouse leapt from the litter.

He bowed, not as elegant as usual, "Hail, Aslan! I have the honor…" He quickly looked back for his tail, after turning about a few times, it hit him that it was gone. "I am confounded… I am completely out of countenance. I must crave your indulgence for appearing in this unseemly fashion."

"It becomes you small one."

Roxas, Xion, and Lea snickered at his slightly embarrassed state. The mouse gave them a swift glare before turning his attention back to Aslan, "All the same if anything could be done… Perhaps her Majesty?" He slightly bowed to Lucy.

"But what do you want with a tail?"

"Sire," Reepicheep told him, "I can eat, sleep, and die for my King without one, but the tail is the honor and glory of a mouse!"

"I wonder if Mickey thinks the same?" Riku chuckled slightly.

Aslan looked down at the mouse. "I have sometimes wondered, friend, whether you do not think too much about your honor."

"Highest of all High Kings," Reepicheep wouldn't let up, "permit me to remind you that a very small size has been bestowed upon us mice, and if we did not guard our dignity, some would allow themselves very unsuitable pleasantries at our expense."

Sora leaned over to Kairi. "He has a point…"

Reepicheep continued. "That is why I have been at some pains to make known that no one who does not wish to feel the tip of my sword as near to his heart as I can reach shall talk in my presence of mousetraps or cheese…not the tallest fool in Narnia!"

The Great Lion looked past the head mouse. "Why have your followers drawn their swords?"

"May it please your High Majesty," another mouse timidly made his way forward. "My name is Peepiceek… we are all willing to cut off our own tails if our chief must go without his. We will not wear an honor that is denied to the high mouse."

Donald and Goofy gaped. "What loyalty…"

"Ah! You have conquered me." Aslan gave a smile. "You have great hearts. Not for the sake of your dignity, Reepicheep, but for the love that is between you and your people, and still more so for the kindness your people showed me long ago when they ate away the cords that bound me on the Stone Table… you shall have your tail again!"

All mouths dropped and all eyes widened. Before Aslan had even finished speaking, Reepicheep had a new tail. "Now that has to be the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

"Now!" Aslan's voice rose again, "Bring me this prisoner you hold in the How."

"Prisoner?" The girls looked around, confused. "What prisoner?"

Naminé looked around, noticing the absence of Ven. "This prisoner… is Ven guarding him?" Donald nodded.

Riku and Lea dashed off to Aslan's How. Aqua came over to Roxas, "Who is this prisoner?"

"You'll see in a minute…"

Mickey and Ven came into view first, faces solemn and Keyblades out. Lea and Riku came next, a person walking between them. Riku had his Keyblade pointed at the person's back.

"That can't be…"

"Terra…" Aqua covered her mouth as tears came to her eyes.

Kairi turned to her spikey-haired friend. "You guys captured Terranort!"

"Yep…"

All eyes fixed upon the captive. The man's golden eyes swept the crowd with hatred but suddenly turned fearful when they met Aslan's. "You?"

"Xehanort!" the Lion's eyes hardened, "You have controlled this boy for long enough."

Terranort managed a glare, but fear was still evident, "If I go, I'll take Terra with me." He looked directly at Aqua and Ven before saying, "I'll kill him before I leave."

"You will not take him!" Aslan literally growled before he spread his paws apart and turned his head skyward. He let out a loud roar, that shook the earth and sky.

"Look!"

"What is that?"

An orange and brown portal swirled to life around Terranort.

* * *

The barren landscape swirled with dust devils. Terranort glanced around, suddenly freed from his bonds. He recognized the place. Suddenly, he heard something behind him. When he turned, an armored figure leapt towards him.

Terranort barely managed to summon No Name, dust rising up around them as their blades clashed. "Who are you(1)!?"

" _At last you are here._ "

The two clashed, Terranort suddenly recognizing the Keyblade in the figure's hand. "You!?"

The armored figure pressed against his opponent. Suddenly, the figure reached past, grabbing Terranort's face. Golden chains shot out from all sides, wrapping around Terranort. Light covered everything.

" _RETURN MY BODY!_ "

Light engulfed the two of them.

* * *

The portal suddenly burst apart in a flash of light. The Telmarines, Narnians, and all the others watching, all jumped back in surprise. When all the light cleared all gasped. Where Terranort had been, an armored figure now knelt.

Aqua gasped, her knees becoming weak as water. She knew that copper, brown, and orange armor. "It… it can't be…"

The figure slumped over as if in relief, and the armor came off in a flash of light. Ven and Aqua stared in awe, tears welling up in their eyes as a familiar head of brown hair came into view. "Terra…"

Aslan strode over to the young man, who slowly looked up into Aslan's face. The Lion bent down and spoke in a whisper to the young man. Terra nodded a few times but said nothing.

All those around, stood in silence, just watching(2).

A minute later Terra slowly stood up, eyes still locked with the Lion's. Aslan turned, approaching the Keybearers. "Here is your friend… there is no need to speak to him on what has passed." With that, he turned about, leaving them.

"Terra…" Aqua crept closer as if he was a dream that would fade at any moment.

"Hello…" His blue eyes looked into hers.

"Terra!" The girl ran forward, crashing into him with an embrace. "It's you! It's you! You're here…!"

"Aqua." Terra slowly returned the embrace, holding onto her as if she was a lifeline. "Yes, I'm here…"

"Terra!" Ven rushed forward; his friend unwrapped one arm from around Aqua and caught Ven in it, wrapping the blonde in a strong hug. "It's really you!"

The three friend's laughter filled the air as tears ran down their cheeks. Ven eventually slipped out of the older boy's grasp, allowing Terra to cling to Aqua again. "I'm here… I'm back! I'm back!"

"Don't you ever leave me again!" punching his chest, the girl continued to cry. "Promise me!"

"I promise…" his eyes closed as his breath slowed. A moment later they opened again, looking up to the others. The first one to meet his gaze was Mickey. "King Mickey… it's been a while."

The mouse King gave a light smile. "Yes, it has."

"I remember you." Terra smiled at Riku.

"And I you."

Mickey cut in slowly. "We can talk on the Gummi Ship."

"Yes, Xehanort won't wait…"

Lea walked over to Caspian and Peter. "Sorry, we can't stay. We have to get back to our own war."

"We understand…"

Terra finally let Aqua go and knelt before the Great Lion. "Sir… thank you…"

"My son," bending down, Aslan touched Terra's forehead with his tongue.

The young man stood, turning back to give Aqua the most gentle smile he could muster. "Aslan, you gave me back my life and everything I had to live for. Thank you..."

* * *

The entire group sat in the main room of the ship. Now, everyone got a good look at Terra. His attire hadn't changed since Riku saw him last: his black shirt with crossing red belts, his tan pants, and the armor on his left arm.

No one said a word as they sat there, with only Terra standing, his back to them; taking a deep breath before turning back, he spoke. "I think, the first thing is… I must apologize for all I've done under Xehanort's control… to all of you."

"Terra, you don't…"

"No, I do…" He closed his eyes; as they reopened, sorrow filled them to the brim. "Ven… Aqua… I am the cause for everything. It's because of me that Aqua was trapped in the Realm of Darkness for so long, and it's because I listened to Xehanort's lies that he was able to put Ven in more danger. It's also my fault that he has the master." He looked up gauging their reactions before continuing, "All your trouble have been my fault. When Xehanort possessed me, I became the Xehanort that killed your family…" He looked at Kairi. "I became the Ansem who destroyed your world and controlled you." His eyes moved to Sora and Riku. "Then I became the Xemnas who ruined your lives." He turned to Roxas, Xion, Naminé, and Lea.

The others looked at him, their faces still. Terra sat down, facing them, his eyes downcast. "Well then…" Sora spoke first. "Now we have that done, we should do as Aslan said: 'There is no need to speak on what has passed. It's in the past, Terra's back, he's cleared the air, and that's that. Now, let's get back to kicking Xehanort's butt!"

"Yeah!"

Terra's head shot up before he smiled, "I forgot who I was dealing with."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Oh, definitely a good thing," the older brunette chuckled lightly, "now, I'm sure you guys wish to know everything about Xehanort's plans… I wish I could help. I can't remember a thing… sorry…"

"You can't remember a thing!?" Donald squawked.

He sighed, "I remembered everything until Aslan stopped speaking. Then it was like, everything seemed to slowly fade away, as if Xehanort was clearing my mind bit by bit. All his plans and secrets are gone; I don't know any of them. The only little thing I can remember is that he plans to invade three worlds… and it's already begun. One world has already been invaded."

"Don't worry about it." Riku clapped him on the back. "We'll figure them out eventually. We know what we need to know right now, and the rest will come in time. Our first order of business is to find and get your master back; you know, try and thin out Xehanort's ranks so we can't clash to make the χ-blade."

"About that…" Terra closed his eyes, trying to remember very hard. "There's something really important you need to know… but I can't…"

"Terra! Don't hurt yourself!"

Mickey scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Xehanort made sure you know the same as the rest of us… a kind of fail-safe if you were to escape. He did the same to Kaname, Rimi, and Yamato."

"Probably…"

Lea stood and stretched. "You know, we can continue this tomorrow. It's been one heck of a day, and we need to rest up for some Xehanort butt-whooping tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me!"

Aqua stood. "Terra, I'll show you to your room."

"Thank you, Aqua."

Riku got up, in the middle of the night, needing a drink. As he passed through the main area on his way to the dining hall, he noticed Terra sitting on one of the couches.

"Hey," he asked, "what're you doing up?"

The young man looked up slowly. "Sorry… can't sleep. It's just too strange. For thirteen years I've had someone controlling me, making me do horrible things. Now, I'm among friends and my own master again. It's a little… overwhelming…"

"I completely understand."

`"Riku," Terra stood, "I didn't mention this earlier, but I have something else to apologize for. It is literally, all my fault. I gave you your Keyblade and I don't regret that, but because of that, Xehanort purposely targeted you."

"What do you mean?"

Terra sighed. "When Xehanort took over my body, he looked into my memories and saw me passing you the power. That's why he wanted you as his first vessel; you were strong and you got your original ability to wield the Keyblade from me. Taking you over was another way of tormenting me, taking you out, and getting what he wanted, all in one stroke."

"So the reason Ansem chose to possess me was that you knew me?" Terra nodded silently. "That explains a lot…"

"I'm so sorry…"

Riku shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for. This was all Xehanort's doing, not really yours. Sure you made a bad decision, everyone does… well, except for Kairi but that's only because she's a Princess of Heart." Both boys chuckled lightly. "I'm serious… don't beat yourself up over some mistakes. It won't be easy, but you're not alone and that'll get you through to the end."

"Thanks, Riku!" the two clasped hands. "I'm glad I chose you to wield the Keyblade."

"And, despite all I've been through, I'm thankful you gave me the power to wield it." He looked up and noticed Aqua standing in the shadows behind Terra. "I'm gonna get some sleep… you probably should too. You're first night as a free man, you should be sleeping like a baby."

"Ha… I'll try."

Riku left, leaving Terra to dwell on his words. "Hey…"

Turning, the young man saw Aqua approaching. "Hey… you should be asleep."

"I wanted to check on you and see how you were doing. Can't sleep?"

"I was about to head back to bed." He hung his head. "I'm sorry…"

"Hey," she came forward, touching his face gently, "Don't be…"

"I've hurt you more than anyone… I regret that more than anything." Grasping her hands lightly, the two sat on the couch. "Ever since I met you, you've always been the best friend I could ever ask for, always able to pull me out of my slums no matter how deep. As such, I've always tried to be there for you and protect you. When I failed my Mark of Mastery exam I became angry and pushed away everyone, including the person I cared about more than anyone else… you."

"Terra…"

He pushed one of her bangs out of her face gently. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. Pushing you away, nearly got you killed, and yet you tried to save me in the end, going into the Realm of Darkness in my place. I saw how you suffered and only wish now is to never make you go through anything like that ever again. I will stay by your side for the rest of my life…"

"Terra… you know I care for you and I will always be there to bring light to your life and any situation you may face. This I promise…" She leaned on his chest and closed her eyes, listening to her friend's heartbeat as he lightly stroked her hair.

The young man listened to Aqua's slow breathing; she was finally asleep. He remembered that her bedroom lay across the hall from his own; lifting her into his strong arms, he carried her down the all into her room. As he laid her on the bed, he stared at her face, tears coming to his eyes as he recalled all the pain he put her through since their Mark of Mastery exam.

How would he ever forgive himself, no matter how many others forgave him? Kneeling beside the bed, he took her hand in both of his; his head fell over, lying sideways on the bed. "I'm not alone… I'll figure it out, with their help… with her help."

With these thoughts on his mind, Terra closed his eyes and sleep took him.

* * *

Naminé rolled in her bed. Nights free of nightmares, until now.

 _Screams filled the air._

 _A flower, beautiful, with soft white petals, seemed to float in darkness. Suddenly, red dripped down the petals until the flower became a blood red._

 _Water washed over the flower, sweeping it away. A minute later, the gentle sound of the water became drowned out in the crackling of fire. The water suddenly burst into flame, evaporating into steam which filled her dream._

 _When it faded, Naminé saw stones, bricks of many colors lying on the ground, intertwined with something that looked like the web of a spider._

 _Her hands reached into the rubble, brushing aside the rock and dust. She pulled out a small metal object of a familiar shape. The metal object suddenly cracked and disintegrated in her hands._

Naminé jolted awake.

She threw herself out of bed and ran to the cockpit. Roxas, who sat in the front, jumped as she grabbed the controls, turning the ship in a different direction. "Naminé!? What are you doing!?"

She didn't respond, her mind running through the dream again. While most of it was vague, the ending… the metal object pulled from the ruins. It was the emblem of King Mickey and his home.

Something was wrong there…

* * *

 **Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached my favorite arc, the longest arc of the story.**

 **Please Review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) I took this directly from the new Winnie the Pooh trailer.

(2) This is a reference to what Aslan did with Edmund in the first (in written order) book. 

* * *

**Guidance**

When we need help, we can ask God for strength, but some people might ask if they believe in God, why would they need help.

God never said things would be easy, even after we accepted Christ. Actually, if anything, things are going to get difficult. We have this idea that God would never give us anything that we couldn't handle, but that's not true.

He will not give us anything we can handle without Him.

Things happen, things we can't handle by ourselves, and that's the point. Sometimes, things happen and the only way we can get through it is to ask God for help. It's just like a parent letting a child try something they can't do alone, and when the child asks, the parents steps in to help.

That's what God does.


	43. Chapter 43: Invasion- Ghost Town

**Some of you might remember the old Disney Town chapter and what transpired. Well, some of this is inspired by that old chapter, but most of it is brand new content.**

 **By the way, during December, I will be picking up Kh5 again. I put it on hiatus in order to try and finish this fic before Kh3 comes out… well, that won't happen, so I'll go back to my old system.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

* * *

 **Chapter 43: Invasion- Ghost Town**

* * *

"A-are you sure about this?" Mickey glanced at Donald and Goofy.

Once everyone woke up, Naminé told them all about her dream and where they were heading. The residents of Disney Town, of course, looked worried. Sora sighed, looking out at the stars. "Have you hailed the castle yet?"

"Tried." Roxas tapped the console. "No one responded. You can try them again."

Sora moved to the console and connected to Disney Town. "Chip? Dale? Anyone there?" Static. "Chip? Dale? Do you read me? Someone? Anyone? Please, respond!" Nothing

"This isn't good. With your dream, Nami, and no contact… something is wrong." Riku rubbed the back of his neck.

"We should reach Disney Town in less than an hour."

The time that followed felt more like twelve hours rather than less than one. They continued to try and hail Disney Town the entire way. No one answered.

When they tried to land in the hanger, they found it sealed off. The air in the ship felt close, stale, and thick with worry and fear. With no way to land inside the hanger, they found a place in town, hoping to find someone to tell them what was happening.

But when they landed…

"Where is everyone?"

Mickey looked around his kingdom, face riddled with worry. "The town has never been this quiet before."

They stood on the outskirts, near what appeared to be some sort of racetrack. Donald and Goofy seemed even more on edge now. The duck grabbed his hat, wringing it in his wings. "You should be able to hear people by now. Ellsworth crooning. Chief O'Hara yelling at his officers. Gyro's machine working. Ludwig Von Drake reciting poetry. Morgana Macawber chanting spells…(1)"

Terra, looking out at the racetrack, sighed. "I remember this place. I mean, I came during a festival, but this town was so full of life."

"Let's look around."

The group walked into the town, and their anxiety only spiked as they moved into the streets. Food carts lay toppled over on the side of the road. Baskets, books, toys, food, sweets. Everything lay strewn along the ground as if everyone just dropped everything and ran.

"This… doesn't look good at all."

Goofy and Donald began running around the streets, leaving their king who just stood silently, staring at his kingdom.

"Penny?"

"Nereus?"

"Dutch…?"

"Peg…?(2)"

"... Anybody?"

Mickey's entire body shuddered. "Naminé, tell me your dream again? I need to have some clue as to what happened."

"I-I saw a white flower that turned red. Water setting on fire. Then I saw a lot of bricks covered in what looked like spider webs. Under the bricks, I found your emblem."

Aqua looked around. "Perhaps we should split up and check for some clues or any other signs of life." Mickey silently nodded. "We can start from the square." Slowly, they all made their way to the center of town.

"Ok, those who know the town better tell us where to go."

Mickey, taking a deep breath, prepared to speak, when suddenly. "LOOK OUT!" Down a side street, they heard a woman scream. They ran into the place Aqua recognized as the fruitball court.

A tall female mouse in a light blue pencil skirt, wearing a white button-up shirt under a navy cardigan came running, ducking as an Aeroplane Heartless swooped down on her. Mickey suddenly gasped. "A-Amelia(3)!?"

"Hit the deck!" A metal pole impaled the Heartless. "Yes!" A female duck, dressed in grayish-brown shorts, a brown flight jacket, a blueish-gray scarf, an aviator hat, and goggles, twirled another metal pole. "Take that, Heartless!"

"Della!?"

The female duck looked over and grinned. "Donald!" Tossing the pole aside, she ran over, nearly tackling the other duck in a hug. "Where have you been!? You're the first living thing we've seen since we got here!"

The mouse, Amelia, ran over and hugged the king. "Michel! I was so worried!"

"Michel?" Sora glanced over at Riku who shrugged.

Goofy chuckled. "That's the king's full name."

"His full name is Michel? So, we've been calling him by a nickname the entire time and just didn't know it?"

"Yep."

Mickey smiled as the other mouse hugged him. "Amelia. It's good to see you. But, what are you doing here?"

"We came to visit, but we found the town abandoned." Della looked at the king. Her eyes glanced over at the others. "Are these some of the friends you told us about?"

Donald nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, nice to meet all of you. I'm Della Duck. But I'm sure Donald's told you all about me." The group all shook their heads. "Donald! Are you telling me you never told your friends about your twin sister!?"

"I don't think that's our main priority, Della!"

Amelia smiled and shook her head before turning to the group. "I know this isn't the best time, but I'm Amelia Fieldmouse, Michel, I mean Mickey's older sister." She turned to her younger brother. "Michel, we came to see you. But when we couldn't find anyone, we split up to look around. Our other brother and his wife should be in the underground tunnels."

"Other brother?"

"Oswald and Ortensia are here?" Mickey gasped. "Come on! We need to find them. If everyone else is missing, I don't want to lose anyone else."

Sora paused. "What is going on? None of you told us about your families."

"Sora," Kairi took his hand, "we need to focus."

"Right…"

Ven removed a manhole cover and stepped aside. "Who wants to go first?" One by one, they climbed down into the dark hole. The lights underground gave them some light, but power didn't seem to be running.

"This is not how I wanted to see this world again," Terra sighed, "I wish I could've done something to stop it."

"Don't blame yourself."

As they came into an area full of giant gears and machines, a small figure jumped down. "Get back!"

Mickey blocked with his Keyblade but stopped as he got a good look at the assailant. "Oswald!"

"Mickey!" A rabbit dressed in a similar outfit to Mickey, but in blue, lowered a giant paintbrush. "We've been looking everywhere for you! Ortensia! Come down, it's Mickey and the others!"

A cat in a pink sundress jumped down. "Oh, thank goodness."

Mickey hugged them both. "It's good to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"We came to visit, but the town was empty when we got here. We tried the castle, but some creeps that you said got locked in prison were there, along with a man in a black coat."

Terra clutched his head. "Th-this was the first invasion site! I-I think… augh! Why can't I remember?"

"Terra, it's ok."

Mickey glanced around at the group. While Donald, Goofy, and probably himself looked afraid, and even a little hopeless. But the others…

They looked angry, angry and determined, a fire burning in their eyes, even in the eyes of Amelia and Della. Even Terra. If Xehanort had invaded this world, then they were ready to fight for it. The king closed his eyes, and when they opened, fire replaced the sorrow. "We have to find everyone. Oswald, you said that the castle is being guarded?"

"Yeah," the rabbit smiled at the rest of the group, "and I'm Oswald by the way. Thanks for taking care of my little brother. Ortensia, why don't you and Amelia go hide out somewhere. You two can't fight and I don't want you hurt."

Mickey turned to the others. "Xehanort is behind this. He must have gotten past the Cornerstone of Light. If no one is here, then they're all probably at the castle."

"What about those criminals Oswald mentioned."

"Oh," Donald smirked, "compared to Xehanort, they'll be easy. We just have to get past them."

"Sounds good."

Ortensia and Amelia hid away in a building as the others walked towards the castle. Sora hung in the back, an out-of-place frown on his face. He couldn't understand what the point was. Why would Xehanort invade Disney Town? Was he after the Cornerstone? What was the point in hurting all these innocent people?"

"Sora?" Kairi's soft voice pierced his thoughts as she lightly grasped his hand. "What's wrong?"

"I just don't understand what Xehanort is planning. Why do this? What's if all for?"

His fiance's grip tightened. "I don't either, and I've got this bad feeling in my stomach. I don't know why…"

"Hey!" Roxas jumped back, trying to shake off a vine that wrapped around his leg. "What the-!?" The vine jerked his leg out from under him, dragging the boy down the street. Roxas tried to cover his face as he smacked against the stone walkway. One hand over his face, he summoned Oathkeeper and slashed at the vine.

"Roxas!" Xion ran to his side, ready to heal him when a strange bubble of water splashed over her, congregating over her mouth and nose, filling her lungs with water within seconds.

Lea grabbed both of them, evaporating the water around his friend's mouth while healing his other friend. "You two ok?"

Xion coughed, gasping for oxygen as her body attempted to expel the water invading her body. "Th-thanks."

"What happened?"

"We happened." In front of the castle gates stood a female duck in a long black dress, a dog-like person seemingly made of water, a duck-like person made of plants, and a rat in a rubber suit.

"Magica De Spell? Liquidator? Bushroot? Megavolt?"

Behind them stood Master Eraqus, his golden eyes staring blankly at the group. "Destroy them."

"Master!" Terra reached out for Eraqus, only for his master to turn and go into the castle.

The duck, Magica De Spell, snapped her fingers, walling the group in with stone. "So sorry, but we can't let you pass. Get them, boys!"

Megavolt leapt forward, shooting electricity at the group. Aqua blocked it as they charged. Mickey and Oswald ran past the three attackers and went directly towards Magica. Oswald's giant paintbrush stiffened into a spear(4). The duck used spell after spell to block off each attack.

Liquidator barrelled down on Xion, Lea, and Roxas. "Hello, young lady! How did you like your free sample of the wrath of the Liquidator?"

"Back off!" Roxas charged, swiping at the water dog. "How dare you hurt her!"

"We are not liable for injuries to customers." The dog laughed and his arm splashed against Oathkeeper, the water snaking down the Keyblade and up the boy's arm. Like Xion, the water covered Roxas' mouth and nose. He tore at it, but his hands passed through the water.

"Yowch!" Liquidator pulled his arm back as steam began to rise from his arm.

"You know, this is the second time you've tried to drown my friends." Lea twirled his Keyblade with a smirk, but his eyes were hard and focused. "Why not face me instead?" His weapon glowed with a deep fire as he charged, with a single swipe, Liquidator's legs turned to steam and he flopped to the ground. "How the tables have turned…"

"Ven!" Aqua coated her Keyblade in fire, her friend doing the same thing as Bushroot sent vines throughout their group. Their weapons struck the vines, burning them to ashes.

"My plants!" Bushroot cried. "Oh, you'll pay for that! Spike!" Out of the ground popped giant venus flytraps on legs. "Sick 'em!" The flytraps barked, running at the group, snapping.

Terra drove his keyblade into the ground. "Quake!" Rocks began to just up everywhere, impaling the little flytraps, causing them to wither on the spot. Bushroot began screaming at him, giving Naminé a chance to go up behind him and bash the duck on the back of the head with Embrace of Destiny.

Sora ducked under a blast of electricity from Megavolt. "I think my hair is wild enough, thanks."

"Hold still, you brat!" Megavolt launched another bolt at Sora only for Kairi to leap in front and block it. Riku slid under the electrical bolt, jabbing the hilt of his Keyblade into the rat's gut.

The battle, if it could be called that, more like a skirmish, ended quickly with all the enemies piled up in front of the gate.

"Well," Ven stretched, "that was easy."

Suddenly, the castle gates opened every so slightly. Something flashed in the sunlight and wrapped around the pile of unconscious bodies, dragging them inside the gates before they slammed shut.

"Uh, what the HECK was that!?"

Mickey charged the gate, slamming into it as his small frame tried to push the gate open. A minute later, everyone joined him, fifteen sets of hands shoved against the gates until the gave, slowly creaking open.

Empty.

The courtyard looked untouched. Not a person in sight.

Mickey ran across the grass, everyone following behind, making a line towards the throne room. A magical seal covered the door, but not the same one Sora once saw Minnie take down, but this one seemed dark, crackling with purple streaks, looking out of place in the world of light. And it still begged the question of how? How did they get past the Cornerstone of Light!?

Mickey unlocked the seal with his Keyblade and pushed open the door. On the far end of the room, Eraqus sat, stone-faced, on the king's throne.

"Where are all the townspeople!?"

Eraqus looked up. "Oh, you mean his puppets."

The group shuddered as a laugh pierced the air. Swooping down from about them, the familiar Puppeteer Heartless cackled, it's swirling eyes glinting in the light. As it passed over, its hands scooped up Della and Oswald.

Mickey opened his mouth to cry out, but no sound came. His eyes glued to the ceiling.

Everyone.

The entire population of Disney town hung on the ceiling, dangling from puppet strings.

"Oh. My. Gosh."

The Puppeteer Heartless, feeling their pain, their anger, their confusion and sorrow, screeched out a laugh so fierce it seemed to freeze the blood in the veins(5).

* * *

"No! Stop!"

Xehanort brought down his Keyblade on the neck of the old woman kneeling before him. Her body crumpled to the smooth wooden floor, blood already beginning to pool around her. Ansem and Xemnas stood silently behind him, not saying a word, for they knew and understood the thoughts of his. Braig, who watched silently, looked a little more confused.

No matter.

Xehanort looked at the small object from his pocket. He felt a small sting in his heart, but he pushed it away. No need for that anymore. Tilting his hand, the small object slid off, splashing in the new pool of blood, glinting slightly in the lights filtering in through the windows.

"It is time." His old eyes flashed, looking at the three around him. "Begin the invasion."

* * *

 **I am so excited for this!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) These are some classic characters-

-Ellsworth was a crow that Goofy had as a pet, but I made him his own character.

-The chief of police who takes the role of a stereotypical Irish cop.

-Gyro Gearloose is an inventor, seen recently in _Ducktales_.

-Ludwig Von Drake was a scholar created for a Disney TV series.

-Morgana Macawber is a sorceress from _Darkwing Duck_. 

(2) I'd recommend going to the Disney wiki and looking up a number of these guys, or if you go to the wiki and go through the "classic characters" section, you'll find all of them, and that goes for all of the random characters that pop up.

(3) She is known by Felicity, Amelia, and Amely. I think her name is officially Felicity, but for the sake of consistency, I chose Amelia.

(4) Thanks, Valkyrie for the idea!

(5) Think (Mark Hamill) Joker laugh.

* * *

 _VAs:_

 _Felicity Fieldmouse- Veronica Taylor (April O'Neil, Akari Mizunashi, Ash Ketchum)_

* * *

 **Prayer**

I know I normally have some little thing with encouragement for everyone, but today is a little different.

This is the week before finals and the last fall semester of my college years. This semester and today especially has been stressful. I've had many days of just crying and wanting to sleep. Writing this story is one of the few things that doesn't stress me out.

So, instead of the normal devo, I have a request. I would like prayer for these last two weeks. Prayer that I don't get stressed out and that finals work out well. That I have focus and that I can remember what I need to.

Thanks, guys!


	44. Chapter 44: Invasion- Puppetmaster

**This chapter is gonna be awesome!**

 **There is one scene here that I think is one of the best I've ever written, and I'm so excited to share it with you guys!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **OCs © to me!**

 **Chapter 44: Invasion- Puppetmaster**

* * *

Fear.

Very few times before, Sora had felt such terror. Seeing the residence of his friend's home strung up by puppet strings. Their eyes faded and cloudy.

His fear suddenly turned into pure rage. He glanced down at Eraqus, looking directly into the golden eyes, and through the man whose body stood before him. His entire body shook. "H-how dare you…" His eyes flashed, but he didn't notice the flash of darkness there too. "XEHANORT!"

He ran, summoning his Keyblade in his hands. Eraqus never even blinked as he held up a hand.

The Puppeteer suddenly tossed Oswald and Della into the air, suddenly wrapped up in the strings in the air. Suddenly, the Heartless swooped down, dangling a puppet in front of Sora. The boy skidded to a stop, dismissing his Keyblade moments before he hit Queen Minnie, who dangled limply from the puppet strings.

"Minnie!" Mickey came running towards them, and the others charged, moving to go around the Puppeteer and Minnie. Minnie's hand thrust outward, unleashing a blue(1) Pearlza spell at her husband. Mickey jumped aside and grabbed her hand. "Minnie! It's me!" Her empty eyes showed no signs of recognition as the Puppeteer jerked her from him, manipulating her to casting another spell.

Only now did the Heartless turn his swirling eyes on the others trying to surround him. With a wave of his hand, puppets came flying down, blocking the advance of each warrior. The innocent citizens, against their will, swung at the group. Everyone felt their hearts sting as they found themselves facing people who would have smiled and greeted them with nothing but kindness.

"Now, fall." Eraqus held up his hand. Dark chains slithered to life, worming their way through the air. Sora and all his allies could do nothing. They did not even notice the chains as their attention focused on the Puppeteer's victims.

Too late.

The dark chains wrapped around their faces, swallowing them all in darkness.

* * *

Sora's consciousness flickered in and out. He felt something, he didn't know what, but something pulled on his limbs. Whiteness swirled before his eyes. Whiteness? Wait. Was that the floor? The throne room floor. As the thing pulled, he saw the floor growing further and further away, until it finally stopped.

With what little strength he had, his head turned. Were those his friends? All of them? Were they hanging from strings?

Suddenly, a creepy face appeared in his vision. The swirling eyes of the Puppeteer filled his gaze. Then Sora's vision faded once again.

* * *

" _I'm surprised you wanted to do this?_ "

" _You shouldn't be. I want the worlds to survive, same as you, and same as them._ "

Nine figures glided across the ground towards the group. A woman in white stood in front of them all. A man in dark blue stepped up beside her. " _What do you want us to do?_ "

" _Wake them._ " The woman smiled. " _I will free the Cornerstone. You must free them and allow them to find the light that is within them._ "

" _Right._ "

The woman in white walked towards the throne. Eraqus did not see her. Her eyes, glittering with excitement, glanced around, specifically looking at the Puppeteer Heartless. The monster crawled along the ceiling, through its maze of puppet strings like a giant spider. In the middle of the group of puppets, Sora and his friends hung from new strings.

Xehanort would come for them soon. They did not have much time to work.

As she stared up, the Heartless looked down, making eye contact with her. The Puppeteer let out an ear-splitting shriek and lunged at her. The woman didn't move as the creature tried to tackle her. It went right through her.

Eraqus blinked as the giant Heartless slammed into the ground next to him, shrieking, and swiping at nothing. "What are you doing?"

The creature continued to attack. The vessel of Xehanort could not see the woman in white phasing through the floor, continuing into the Hall of the Cornerstone. She walked down to where the glowing white orb sat on a pedestal, but it seemed so off. A dark bubble surrounded it. Xehanort must have searched far and wide for a strong enough darkness to combat this stronghold of light. The three massive Heartless probably helped with this.

Holding out her arms, she focused on the dark orb. Cracks began to appear in the darkness. " _Now… strike._ "

* * *

The man in dark blue floated off the ground, going over to Sora. His heart ached to see the boy dangling from puppet strings, his blue eyes dulled. " _Sora, wake up._ " His hand, glowing with an ethereal light, pressed against Sora's forehead until the boy began to stir. He then moved on to do the same to Roxas.

A woman in light blue floated up to Xion. " _Poor dear._ " She too laid a glowing hand on the girl's forehead.

A man in navy and red floated up to Riku and did the same before moving on to Mickey. A woman in pink and purple did the same to Kairi and then to Naminé. A shirtless man did the same to Lea before moving on to Donald. A man in white did the same to Terra and to Goofy. A woman in green did the same to Aqua. And a man in blue did the same to Ven.

The heroes began to stir, but when they're eyes opened, none saw the people who woke them.

Ven gasped first. "Wh-what happened!?" He struggled against the puppet strings holding him in the air.

"I think the master got the drop on us." Terra stared up at the strings, studying them for a way to free himself.

Mickey looked around at his citizens. "But, why are we awake? No one else is."

"Good question," Lea huffed, "and why is that Heartless spazzing out?"

Now, they all saw the giant Puppeteer, scurrying around, swiping at nothing, pushing at the entrance to the Hall of the Cornerstone.

Above the heroes, the glowing people who woke them stood, waiting.

" _Should we move?_ "

" _Not yet_."

Eraqus stared, deadpan, at the Heartless. "What has gotten into you." He was so focused on the Heartless, that he did not notice Sora and the others waking up. The Heartless was in a frenzy; if he didn't know any better, he would say that it was… afraid. It was trying to attack something to defend its own life.

But why?

Suddenly, small panes of light began to jut out from under the throne, from the Hall of the Cornerstone. "What!?"

"The Cornerstone!"

The Puppeteer screeched and jumped back, away from the light.

" _Now?_ "

" _Now!_ "

The strings holding Sora and his companions suddenly snapped. They plummeted to the ground with cries of help. As they fell, Eraqus and the Puppeteer turned, suddenly launching attacks their way, with no warning.

"LOOK OUT!" Everyone summoned their weapons and moved to block.

The Puppeteer slammed into them before jutting up a hand to summon its puppets.

" _Not happening._ "

A barrier of light appeared, stopping any puppets from reaching their master. The Heartless noticed the glowing people standing on the barrier. It shrieked and lunged at the people, slamming into the barrier, over and over.

Eraqus, his eyes flashing with Xehanort's control, stared in awe and frustration at the creature. What was it doing!? What was doing this to it!?

Even Sora and the others stared up at the Heartless.

Was it the barrier? Where did it come from?

"Take that creepy thing down!"

"Lea!" Roxas summoned both of his Keyblades. The pyro summoned his chakram, turning it on its side; Roxas jumped on, and Lea launched him in the air.

Sora turned and ran up the wall, throwing Key to the Kingdom. The Keyblade smacked into the Puppeteer, throwing it off its balance just enough so that when Roxas slashed at its hand, the monster came crashing down to the floor.

It screeched, shooting puppet strings at everyone, attempting to capture them once more.

"Not this time!" Kairi and Lea held out their Keyblades. "BURN!" Fire blossomed from the tips of their weapons and reduced the strings to dust.

Mickey ran in, slashing vigorously at the Heartless, a raging fire burning within his heart. "How dare you treat my people like this!? You will never hurt anyone ever again!" Donald and Goofy rushed to his side, unleashing every ounce of their anger on the monster. The Heartless fought back but kept glancing upwards at the people whom no one else could see.

Waiting for one of these moments, Goofy rammed his shield into the Puppeteer's gut as Donald brought down lightning upon it. Mickey dashed in. "This is the end for you! HOLY!" A beam of light erupted from the king, exploding in every direction, a light containing all of his emotion. It burned brighter than any other spell he'd ever cast.

The Heartless screamed as the light evaporated the Puppeteer into nothingness.

"We did it!"

"How…?" Eraqus stood by the throne, unaware of the woman in white behind him.

" _Show us your light_."

Eraqus ran towards the group, dark chains gathering around him. "This ends here!"

"Not this time!" Everyone regrouped, ready to fight back, their hearts burning with emotion.

Determination.

Anger.

Sorrow.

Hope.

The ground around their feet suddenly began to glow. Eraqus slid to a stop as light began rising up around them in little motes. The beam of light spread across the ground, completely encompassing the group.

Above, the glowing people watched with smiles as the light took shape as a heart(2).

"What's going on?" Donald looked around.

" _Don't be afraid_." Sora heard a soft voice whisper in his ear. " _This light is yours_."

The boy gripped Key to the Kingdom tightly and drew Dawn's Might with his other hand. His heart whispered. He knew what to do. "Everyone. Do as I say. Point your weapons towards me." The others stared at him but did as he asked. Immediately, their weapons began to glow, each a different color. All the shades of the rainbow.

"Whoa!"

The lights, each their own color, flowed into Sora. The boy felt the light welling up within him. He held up both blades, slashing them across one another in the shape of an X. "Empyrean Cast of Light(3)!" An X shaped beam of light, shining all the hues of light burst from the tips of his weapons and wrapped around Eraqus.

The light around the possessed man grew brighter. Down below, the dark bubble around the Cornerstone of Light shattered, allowing more light to shine through. Eraqus cried out as darkness began to drip off him.

Sora held out Key to the Kingdom, which glowed a spectacularly bright white light, his face a mask of determination. "Luce Libertatis(4)!"

With a flash, the light suddenly exploded.

Everything went white.

The light faded.

Everyone blinked.

"What just…?"

"Minnie!" Mickey ran across the room. All the Disney Town residence now lay on the ground, eyes shut. He slid next to his queen, lifting her head up.

After a moment, the female mouse began to cough, her eyes fluttering open. "M-Mickey…?"

"Oh, Minnie!" The king pulled her close, his eyes shining with joyful tears. Slowly, all the residence began to stir, sitting up and looking around.

"What just happened?" Oswald shook his head. "I remember that creepy puppet thing."

Sora held out a hand. "Well, that thing is gone now."

Terra knelt down beside Chip and Dale, both of whom stared up at him in shock as they remembered his face. "Terra!"

"Hey, pal!"

"Hey, you two." The young man smiled.

"Donald!" Daisy tackled him in a hug, laughing.

Goofy helped up Clarabella and a woman with red hair(5). He smiled across at everyone. "Everyone looks ok."

"Ven! Terra!" Aqua gasped. Everyone looked, following her outstretched hand which pointed to a lone figure lying on the ground. Eraqus. No longer dressed in a black coat, the man lay in the clothes the three had last seen him in.

Eraqus slowly began to stir, pushing himself up to a kneeling position.

"Master?"

The older man looked up, blinking at the sight of Terra and Aqua. "Terra? Aqua?"

"Master!" The two threw themselves into his arms, tears cascading down their cheeks as they laughed.

Ven stood back, watching. He was happy but… "Ven." Naminé smiled, taking his hand. "Go. You know you missed him."

"Yeah…" Slowly, the boy walked over. Eraqus looked up at his approach, the joy in his eyes instantly turning to sorrow and, regret. "Master."

"Ventus," the older man released the two older students, "I-I know I have no right to ask your forgiveness. I did wrong to raise my Keyblade up against you. I am so very sorry."

Ven shoved his hands in his pocket. "You know, I don't blame you for that… Xehanort lied to me, to you, to all of us. He wanted you to do that. I-I forgive you." His expression melted into a smile as his own tears began to form. Slowly, he knelt down and hugged his teacher. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, all of you." Terra and Aqua came forward again, the four of them, smiling and crying as the warmth of the embrace flooded into their hearts.

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Mickey held his wife's hands. They had to continue on to find Xehanort. Mickey and most of the others wished to stay and help."

Minnie giggled. "You worry too much." Her smile softened. "We'll be alright. Oswald has offered to help us rebuild what needs to be fixed, and you have an important task ahead of you." Her gaze drifted to Eraqus. "And I am very glad that, even through this difficult thing, you managed to recover someone you lost, Terra, Aqua, Ventus." Her gaze turned back to her husband. "Don't worry. I'm sure Xehanort will not return. The Cornerstone is right again, and something about it has changed. Can't you feel it? The light is stronger now than ever before. We will be alright."

Mickey let out a long sigh. She was right, but he didn't want to leave. Not after his people suffered because of Xehanort. Suddenly, a weight slammed into his back. "Don't worry, little brother," Oswald laughed, "Amelia and I will help out. We'll even stay here until you get back, if you want."

"Yes." Amelia smiled. "Have faith in the strength of your citizens. They will be alright."

"You're right." The mouse king grinned, looking around at his family. "Thank you… all of you."

* * *

Eraqus looked around the ship, at all the smiling faces. He felt his heart swell at the knowledge that his students had made such wonderful friends who cared so much about them. Flexing his hand, he sighed. After that strange blast of light that freed him, all of his strength left him. Only now did he feel the old strength, his own, not Xehanort's coming back to him.

He guessed he had a lot to be thankful for.

Kaname, Rimi, and Yamato were all dead after they were freed, but he was alive. Xehanort did not think that highly of him anymore. Not worth the trouble of killing again.

At least that was a good thing. Now he had his students and his life back. All was good.

As it should be.

* * *

Naminé lay in bed, hoping to have a good dream. And that is how it started…

 _She found herself looking down at Disney Castle, the building shining as the strings, that now she knew to be the Puppeteer's strings, fading away as life and light returned to the castle._

 _But then…_

 _Darkness swallowed her vision. Once more, she saw the flower, clearer this time. A white flower bloomed before her eyes before a drop of red fell upon it, soaking the entire thing in a deep, blood red._

 _Then came the water again. It rushed over her, but she did not see fire this time. In the water, she saw the shadows of people running. Building collapsing._

 _Suddenly, the water around her became red and she could taste it. The metallic tinge of blood all around her. She swam upwards, reaching for the surface. Indeed, she broke the surface and gasped for air, only for a cloud of dark smoke to cover her. She coughed. Blood or smoke. Which was worse._

 _Then it stopped._

 _Naminé found herself lying on black sand. She rolled over, looking out at the literal ocean of blood. Just as she turned, an object washed up at her feet. An object, half burned, but still distinguishable._

 _A paopu fruit._

* * *

 **Props to Yami for guessing the next world!**

 **Nice job!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Minnie's Pearl spell is blue unlike Mickey's which is white.

(2) Imagine how the crown symbol appears under Sora when he closes the Keyhole in Kh2. It would look like that, but with white light and the heart would be the same stylized heart that is the KH logo.

(3) Empyrean means Ethereal, and Cast in this sense means shade or hue.

(4) This is Latin for "Freedom of Light"

(5) This is the only description we have of Ms. Geef, Goofy's wife and the mother of Max.

* * *

 **Notes**

This isn't my traditional devo, it's actually an announcement. The next devo will be back to normal, but I thought I would just let you guys know, after Kh3 fic is done, I will be changing from devos to just Bible verses, this is for a very particular reason that I can't really go into, but just know, devos or not, if you ever need prayer, give me a holler and I'll be willing to pray with and for you.

God bless all of you!

Nahum 1:7

" _The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him._ "


	45. Chapter 45: Invasion- Personal

**Ok, if you want the theme music I've chosen for this entire chapter to listen to Kara's Theme from "Detroit Become Human"**

 **This is going to be the darkest and most intense story arc I think I've ever written.**

 **I hope you guys are ready for this!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 45: Invasion- Personal**

* * *

"Naminé, are you certain?" Jiminy spoke softly as if his voice would break the hearts of the three islanders who stood nearby.

The girl nodded. "Yeah. The paopu fruit made it abundantly clear."

Sora, Riku, and Kairi stood together, silent. Kairi clung to Sora's arm, shuddering. The images of what happened at Disney Castle filled their minds. What could have befallen the islands?

"We will have to go there and see for ourselves." Eraqus stood up. "I remember little of Xehanort's plan, but well know that he planned to invade three worlds with the giant Heartless. The Puppeteer invaded Disney Town… Naminé, how long have you had these dreams?"

The girl rubbed her arms. "For a while. I didn't know what they were at first, and I don't know how I keep getting them. My powers never worked like this before."

Eraqus looked at the girl before turning towards the cockpit. Donald already sat in the driver's seat, moving the ship towards the islands. He walked to Naminé and sat down. "I know how your powers work. That is one thing Xehanort told us. Tell me, if you have made a mental link with someone once before, do you still have that connection. Say, you already made a connection to the mind of Rep… I mean Arata, are you still connected to him? If so, then perhaps you were seeing the part of Xehanort's plans that he knew of."

"Then why would I be seeing them now?"

Ven piped up. "Vanitas! You were connected to my heart. You might be connected to his too by accident."

"Makes sense," Sora spoke, but no heart or emotion filled his voice.

Eraqus sighed, he'd hoped to draw their minds away from the ghastly situation they found themselves in. But the moment discussion ended, everyone fell silent once more.

The flight to the islands took some time. Eraqus tried to get Mickey and Aqua to keep the others spirits up with conversation, but nothing seemed to work.

Riku retreated to his room, closing the door. No one heard a peep from him.

Sora and Kairi went to Sora's room. The door stayed open just enough for people to look inside and check on the two of them. No one went inside.

Well, one person did.

Jiminy slipped into the room. The entire flight, he sat by the two, not saying a word. One could see him pat their hands if one of the two became particularly emotional. An air of anxiety, thick as winter fog, hung in the ship. No one spoke.

While the travel to Disney Town before had seemed long and painful. This one was far worse. Now they knew the extent of how far Xehanort would go. What he might do.

Or so they thought.

…

* * *

"Why did we land up here?"

"Because," Donald huffed, "if Heartless were roaming, I didn't want the ship in plain sight." The duck landed the ship in a grove of trees above the town. Very seldom did they ever actually land the ship like this.

Kairi pushed aside some branches, hurrying out into the open. "Oh no…"

Sora and Riku followed her. They stopped. All three of their faces paled. "No…"

The others followed. The sight that lay before them, chilling them to the bone.

Homes, trees, a town that had once been beautiful… most of it billowed smoke. The buildings still stood in some ways, but with little keeping them standing.

"No!" Kairi screamed, running down the hill. Her pace quickened, moving her slightly to the right. Towards a house, or what may have been a house but was now no more than a broken pile of rubble.

"Kairi, wait!" Everyone followed after her.

The girl immediately sunk to her knees as she reached the house. "Mom! Dad!" Her hands grabbed pieces of rubble, ignoring the stinging of splinters, broken glass and metal, and sharp corners. They had to be there! Her parents had to be alive.

"Kairi." Aqua pulled the girl away.

"Let me go! I have to find them! I have to! I-I...:" Falling back against the older girl's chest, the princess sobbed, her entire body shaking with shock. She felt hot and cold at the same time. Numb and hyper-aware.

No one knew what to say.

Riku and Sora stared out at the town. Their minds on their own homes and families.

"Huh?" Xion looked at a part of the rubble. A wall, fallen over, slightly propped up. Underneath it, something moved. A whimper. A whine.

Kairi's eyes opened and her breathing softened as she looked over to see a large black and white spotted Great Dane come crawling out of the opening, limping. "D-Dante?" The dog looked up at her, his tongue lolling out as his tail wagged. Hobbling over as fast as his three good legs could carry him, the large dog flopped onto Kairi's lap, nearly knocking her over as he poked his massive face into hers and licked her. "Dante!" The princess let out a laugh and hugged the dog who let out a loud bark.

"Let me help." Aqua reached over, touching Dante's injured leg as she cast Curza. The dog watched her as the leg righted itself before he licked Aqua's face.

The massive dog barked, running around the group, smelling everyone. He paused a moment as Kyokan came out of the bushes, having left his napping spot in the ship. The two touched noses for a second before the Great Dane decided that the Unversed was alright. He then turned and ran back under the rubble. After a moment, he came out, carrying something small and furry in his mouth.

"My bunnies!" Kairi shouted as the dog brought tiny bunny after tiny bunny out from the rubble. The small creatures shaking themselves before noticing their owner and hopping over. Kairi smiled as the last and seventh rabbit leapt into her lap. "Dante, do you know where Mom and Dad are?" The dog cocked his head for a moment before sniffing around. He did not stay around the rubble but headed for town. "They got out of the house… thank goodness."

Eraqus looked around at their group before turning to the king. "We need to try and establish what happened and where everyone is. Do you mind if I take the lead?"

"Not at all, Eraqus."

"Thank you." The old master stepped forward. "We need to find everyone. Aqua, you and Naminé stay here with Kairi. See if you can't find some clues as to where her parents are. King Mickey, Terra, and I will go with Riku to see about his family. Donald, Goofy, and Ventus, go with Sora and see about his family."

"What about us?"

Eraqus looked at Roxas, Xion, and Lea. "Kairi, can you call your dog over here." The girl whistled and Dante came running over. Grabbing a piece of rope, Eraqus tied it around the dog's collar before handing the end to Lea. "We need to find where everyone is. I suspect the dog will be a great help in this."

"Sounds good."

"Good, then we'll meet at the center of town at sundown to discuss what we learned."

Everyone split off according to Eraqus' plan. Kairi carried her seven bunnies to a small pen that the falling rubble from her house missed. "Here you go, babies. You'll be safe here. I'll come back for you."

"That's weird." Naminé pointed up to another house level with Kairi's. "All the building in town seem to be damaged in some way, but not that one."

Kairi looked up at the mansion across the hill. Naminé was right. "That's where the wealthiest family on the islands lives. We might be able to get some answers there. They have a safe room that they probably went into when all this went down."

"Then, let's go."

The three girls, followed by a curious Kyokan, walked up to the mansion. Something felt… wrong. Kairi pushed the door open. The ornate wood hall seemed so dim compared to when she'd last come here to see her friend Owari. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Kyokan nose his way into the nice dining hall, but she didn't care.

"Kyokan, come here." Naminé followed, trying to catch the little creature. As soon as she pushed open the door, she screamed.

Kairi and Aqua ran to her, stopping short as they beheld the body of an old woman, surrounded by a pool of blood.

* * *

Riku walked silently, his eyes fixed on the ground. How could this happen?

A road branched off from the main path, stopping Riku in his tracks. His eyes lifted up, following the road. Why did his stomach feel like it was twisting around inside of him? It couldn't hurt to check. Could it?

Slowly, his steps turned, taking him down the road, slightly out of the town, much to the confusion of the others with him, but they did not question it. His steps carried him up a hill and under a metal arch that read "Cemetary".

His blood froze. No!

"No!" He ran across the graveyard, dropping in front of a headstone. A headstone cleaved in two. His sister's. "NOOO!"

The others stood at the cemetery entrance, watching the anguish of their friend. At a single glance, one thing was clear.

This was personal.

"Only his sister's headstone was destroyed." Mickey voiced everyone's thoughts out loud.

The cemetery looked untouched, if not for the headstone of Kikyo Tsuchi. While she was in the underworld, this act desecrated her memory and one of the few things Riku had of her in the land of the living.

Slowly, Eraqus walked over to Riku. The boy knelt by the broken grave, his body shaking as he cried. "Terra, come help me set this back up." The boy did as he was asked. The top of the stone, lay cracked down the middle, on the ground. Terra and Eraqus grabbed the top part, delicately setting them back on the main body of the headstone.

Riku watched as Eraqus pressed his hands on either side of the shattered headstone. Golden chains wrapped around the monument, glowing brightly for a second before fading. The stone looked good as new. His tears renewed again as he looked up at the man. "Th-thank you…"

"Come on, let's find your parents." Terra helped the boy up.

They walked back through town towards a set of docks on the Southern side of town. Amidst the wrecks, Riku stopped. Something. The remains of a house that seemingly exploded laid all around him. When he saw the house…

"Oh no." He ran to his house, or what was left of it. "Oh gosh… Oh gosh…"

"Riku. If Kairi's parents got out, I'm sure yours did too."

"I-I hope so…" As the words came out of his mouth, he wasn't sure if he actually believed them. But right now, they were all he had.

* * *

Sora ran through town. The others struggled to keep up, but they did not complain. They knew Sora was afraid, and fear can make one do things without thinking. He rounded a corner and froze. "No!" He footsteps only halted for a moment before he kept running. The others came around the corner a moment later.

"Oh no…" Ven gasped as Sora ran to the smoldering remains of a house.

"My home." Sora sobbed. "No…" The others approached slowly. "I-I lived my entire life here… what could have happened?"

"Meow."

Sora looked up as a small orange cat, fur dusted with soot, came walking towards him. "Ginger!" He scooped up the kitten who began to purr loudly. "I'm glad you're ok." The kitten mewed quietly but nuzzled against her master. "But… where are my parents…?"

"Don't worry. I'm sure they're alright."

* * *

"This is terrible." Xion kept one hand on Dante, constantly petting the dog as they walked.

Roxas nodded, "I don't like this. It's so quiet, and it feels different than Disney Town. Like something worse is going on, but I don't know what's much worse than what happened. I hope everyone is alright."

"We've just got to have hope," Lea sighed, his grip tightening on the rope. "They're alright. They have to be." Slowly, they found themselves walking across the empty town. The dog stopped at the edge of a gated building, sniffing the air before growling.

"What's wrong, puppy?" The girl scratched his ears(1).

Roxas looked up at the building. "I think this is the courthouse. I don't think there's enough room to fit the entire island's population. But, Xehanort might be there…"

"I think so."

* * *

As the sun faded, the group met up in the middle of the town square.

"Did you find anything?"

"Nothing," Ven answered his master, nothing but Sora's cat." He smiled and reached back, scratching the ears of the orange kitty who mewed happily at the contact.

Xion immediately began fawning over the little animal before going back to Dante and hugging him. "We didn't find anyone, but this good puppy led us to the courthouse. He started growling so we think that Xehanort might be in there. But I don't think anyone else is around."

"We found someone," Aqua spoke softly. "In the mansion. We found the body of an old woman."

Kairi looked at Sora and Riku. "I-it was Ms. Venus."

"No way…"

"We didn't find any other people or bodies."

"Where could they be?"

"Look." Jiminy jumped up to the top of Goofy's hat and pointed across town. "I can see lights!"

With the sun going down, normally the windows glowed with the warm lights of families around the supper table. Now, the city was black. Silent and dark.

But across town, the windows of one building glowed with light.

"The school!"

The islanders took off running towards the school. The others followed. Sora reached the building first, banging on the door. "Hello!?"

A shirtless man with long bushy black hair, his chest covered in scars, with a large heart-like tattoo across his chest opened the door. "Sora?"

"Jecht!"

"Mr. Masuo(2) to you boy!" He grunted before pulling the door open. "Now get in here. It isn't safe." His eyes widened as he saw Kairi, Riku, and all the others, but he said nothing.

"Sora!" Tidas Masuo jumped up as they entered, grinning widely.

Wakka Kazuya ran over, grinning. "Guys! Where ya been?"

"Yeah, we've been worried."

Eraqus looked over at Jecht, who eyed the strangers warily. "Sir, can you tell us what happened?"

"Talk to Baralai Kenji(3). He's in the principal's office with all the other guys in charge. Everyone else is in the gym."

"Thanks, Jecht!"

"That's Mr. Masuo!"

The group walked through the empty school hallways. Bags and supplies lined the walls. The principal's office stood at the very end of the hall, but the gym was closer. A man and woman sat outside, guarding the entrance to the gym.

Riku smiled, waving at the two leaders of the fisherman's guild known as Fisherman's Horizon, Dobe and his wife Flo. "Mr. and Mrs. Esthar!"(4)

The older man and woman smiled. "Riku!"

Flo smiled. "Get inside. It's getting late. I'm sure we can find a place for all of you."

"Thank you."

The door opened. Everyone looked around. What should have been an empty gym with sports gear around was now full of people. Mats, usually used for exercising, lined the sides of the room being used as some sort of beds. Anything blanket-like covered the mats.

An older man and woman stood nearby, folding up some blankets. The woman looked up, her blue eyes widening. "Sora!?"

"Grandma Xue! Grandpa Cedric!" Sora saw another man look up at his voice. "Grandpa Ward!"

Riku saw four older people staring at him. "Grandad Coby! Grandmother Valentina! Grandpa Castor! Grandma Yoko!" A couple and their son came his way. "Uncle Aoi! Aunt Estelle! Jirou!"

"Papa Jehiel! Grandma Selah! Grandmommy Jael!5)!"

The others watched as the three islanders found themselves in the embrace of their family members, but certain members were missing.

Kairi looked around. "Where's Mom and Dad?"

"Kairi," Jael looked at her granddaughter, "we haven't seen them since all of this started."

"Sora, Riku, Kairi?" A man with white hair, dressed in green came over, followed by a man with violet hair and glasses.

"Mr. Baralai! Dr. Areth." Kairi smiled at them, but sadness tinged her smile. "I-is it true that my parents are missing?"

Areth adjusted his glasses. "The parents of all three of you have been missing since all of this started."

Mickey stepped forward. "My name is Mickey. We're all friends of Sora, Riku, and Kairi. When did all of this start?"

"About a week ago," Baralai sighed. "These black monsters appeared and chased us all into this building. At first, they didn't attack us when we went out for food, but a few days ago, they started attacking anyone who stepped outside."

Aqua looked around. "You're injured, where are they?"

"In the nurse's office with the head doctor Y'shtola Rhul(6)."

"I'll go see her. Kairi, can you show me where to go?"

"Sure, Aqua." The princess walked over, leading the older girl before leading her toward the Principal's office. The entrance left of the office led into a small office with a few cots. A number of police officers sat on cots, on chairs, and on the floor. A woman in a white shirt, blue pants, and black boots knelt beside an officer, changing his bandages.

She looked up, and Aqua gasped lightly in surprise. Unlike everyone else, this woman was not human; the woman had white hair, white cat ears, and a white tail.

"Hello," the woman stood up. "Oh, Kairi. It's good to see you."

"Hello, Miss. Rhul. This is my friend, Aqua. She has some magic that can help heal the wounded."

Y'shtola smiled. "That would be wonderful. Anything to help these brave men and woman."

Kairi nodded and left Aqua with Y'shtola. Aqua began casting cure. As she did so, the cat woman would come behind and recheck the injuries. "So," Aqua smiled, "I hope I don't offend you, but why are you not…?"

"Human? I'm a Miqo'te." Y'shtola smiled as she undid a bandage on an officer. "There are a few other islands besides this one and what the kids call the play island. There is one about 30 miles southwest of this island; it's called Shitai'paki(7). It's where my people are from. While we don't dislike the humans, our people don't interact very often. I came over to help create better relationships between our people; I brought an orphan from our island too. By the way, any way you can teach me some of that magic?"

Aqua smiled. "Of course I'll teach you. It would be very useful as a doctor."

* * *

Sora looked around, biting his lip at the sight of all his fellow islanders all jammed into the gym, well not all of them. "Where are all the kids?"

"They're with my daughter and some of the other teens in the classrooms."

Eraqus looked around. "Is there something we can do to help you?"

"Yes," Baralai rubbed the back of his head. "There are a number of things that have to be done. With hundreds of people to feed, we need help cooking. We need some help reinforcing the other doors and windows. The kids need more people watching them. We also need help with setting up beds and places to sleep."

"Let's help them."

Riku looked over at his grandparents. "Are there any tools I can use to help with the doors and windows?"

"I brought my set," Coby smiled.

Terra followed Riku over to the set of wood and tools. "Riku, you seem to know what you're doing. Think you can show me?"

"Yeah," the young man smiled, "my dad is a boat builder. I know everything there is to know about carpentry." He let out a sigh. Hopefully, he could keep himself distracted from the thoughts of his missing parents at least until morning.

Mickey and Eraqus followed Baralai to the main office where the new, young police chief: Gippal(8), the captain of the coast guard: Pollok Borukano(9), and the head judge: Kiros Seafill. The two wanted to talk to the other leaders about what had happened when they got trapped in the school.

Kairi, Xion, and Naminé walked to some of the back classrooms. Two other girls sat in one of the rooms with a bunch of younger girls. The older of the two girls, a girl with silver hair and green eyes, grinned as the three came inside. "Kairi!"

"Hey, Owari!"

"Hey, Kairi!" The other girl, Selphie, waved. "Who are your friends?"

The princess giggled. "These two are Xion and Naminé. Guys these are my childhood friends, Selphie Tilmitt and Owari Himitsu."

"Wow," Owari giggled, "it's like looking in two mirrors. You three look so much alike."

"No kidding."

Naminé rubbed the back of her head. "It's a long story. But we're not here for that. We want to help with the kids."

The other girls nodded. "Well, we were just about to start getting them ready for bed. They get fed first so we can put them to bed early."

"Sora and some of our other friends are helping out with the younger boys."

"Good. Zell and G'raha need some help with those kiddos."

In another classroom, a blond boy with a black tattoo on his face and a Mi'qote boy with red hair, ears, and tail tried to keep a bunch of younger boys under control. "Please tell us you're here to help!" Zell yelled as Sora, Ven, and Roxas came into the room.

"Yeah, we're here to help."

Ven smiled at all the kids. "So, what's on the itinerary?"

"We have to get them ready for bed." G'raha Tia sighed. "But they just want to play."

"Perhaps I could help." Jiminy jumped out of Sora's pocket.

Zell and G'raha blinked. "A cricket?"

"This is Jiminy, our chronicler."

The bug smiled. "Tell the boys if they want to hear an amazing story then they need to get ready for bed."

"That'll work." Roxas smiled.

In both classrooms, Sora and Kairi helped get the children ready for bed, hoping to keep their minds distracted. They worried greatly about their parents, but what could they do? They didn't know where their parents were, and it was too dark to be out, especially if the Heartless were out there like everyone said.

It was best to just wait until morning.

As hard as that may have been.

Kairi rocked a little girl to sleep, softly singing.

Sora held a few little boys in his lap, all of whom slept as Jiminy told the story of his old friend Pinocchio until all the little boys fell asleep.

Soon, everyone fell asleep. Those watching the kids pulled up mats nearby the children. Everyone else laid on mats in the middle of the gym with all the others.

* * *

The only other building in town with lights on was the courthouse. In the middle of the main room, six stone pillars jutted up from the ground. Four people sat against the pillars, chains attached to their wrists and wrapped around the back of the pillars.

A man with slightly spiked brown hair and deep blue eyes moved against the chains, but as he moved. He cried out in pain; sweat poured down his pale face.

"Levi!" The person chained beside him, a woman with light brown hair and blue eyes. "Please, don't move. You're just going to hurt yourself more."

"I-I'm fine, Marion… at least I will be."

"Levi," the blond man on the right of Levi sighed, one eye closed to keep the dried blood from getting into his eyes, "you can't push yourself, or you'll hurt yourself more."

The woman beside him, with black hair, dressed in what must have been a nice suit beforehand, looked over at her husband. "Isaac is right. You're just going to cause yourself more pain."

"Isaac, Talitha, I'm fine…"

"Hey," Braig slammed his fist above the Talitha's head, "shut up! It's late. Be quiet or I'll gag you."

Marion looked at the one-eyed man, her eyes pleading for help. "Please, you have to cast magic on my husband. He's sick!"

"He'll live as long as we need him to." Braig chuckled. "If he's too close to death, then we'll cure his wounds."

"You gave him those wounds!" Isaac yelled. His eyes glanced at Levi's legs, and at the backs of them that looked red and inflamed with parts yellow, oozing a yellow-green liquid. "Look at them, the wounds are infected! He could die!"

"Were you not listening? We will heal him when we need to." Isa stepped into the open. "Now, you might as well get some rest now while you have a chance. Now that your children have arrived, your time as our prisoners will be cut short."

Marion and Levi grit their teeth. "Leave our son alone!"

Braig just laughed as he and Isa left, leaving the four parents still chained to the pillars.

Down in the courthouse basement vault, a silver-haired man and white-haired woman sat together, holding one another close. The vault door opened and Ansem walked into the room.

"Artemis get behind me" The man stood up, glaring down at the Heartless in front of them. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to inform you and your wife that your son has arrived."

The woman, Artemis, clung to her husband's arm. "Asher… you don't think…?"

The heartless chuckled under his breath. "I hope you understand that there is nothing you can do to stop us. You should take this time to say your goodbyes." With that, he slammed the door, locking the couple inside.

* * *

Riku sighed as he nailed a board over a window. It was almost midnight, but he wasn't stopping just yet. Terra and a few of the others stayed up with him to help finish the job.

One more board on one more window.

Riku grabbed the board to finish the job, only for an arrowgun bolt to come smashing through the open area of the window. A few of the people still awake screamed and ducked for cover. The bolt stuck into the back wall.

Areth Himitsu approached the bolt first, picking up a letter attached to the bolt. The island psychologist read the writing on the outside. "Riku. Let someone else finish. Get Sora, Kairi, and the others that were with you." He held up the letter. "It's addressed to you, Sora, and Kairi."

Soon, the entire group gathered in the office of the principal with Areth and Baralai. "You said the letter is addressed to us?" Sora bit his lip.

Areth nodded. "Yes." He handed the letter to Sora.

Written on the outside of the envelope were the names of Sora, Riku, and Kairi. The boy slowly opened the envelope and pulled out a folded letter. As he unfolded it, three photographs fell out.

"No!" Sora picked up the photograph of a younger version of himself with two people: a woman with light brown hair and a man with slightly spiky brown hair. Riku picked up a photo of himself at age 15 with a silver-haired man and a small white-haired woman. Kairi picked up the final photo of herself with a black-haired woman and blond man.

"O-our parents…!"

Eraqus gently took the letter as the three islanders stared at the photos of them and their parents. He read the letter softly, as if his words would break the hearts of the three teens. "It says, ' _Sora, Riku, Kairi, if you want your parents to live, you will do exactly as we say. Sora and Kairi, tomorrow at 9 A.M. you must come to the courthouse. At the same time, Riku, you are to step outside the school where we will give you instructions that you will follow. Say your goodbyes while you can. Remember, your parents' lives hang in the balance. Their fates are in your hands. -Xehanort_ '."

No one said a word.

Kairi's shoulders shook as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Without a word, she turned, running down the hall.

"Kairi!"

"Let her go," Mickey spoke softly.

Riku and Sora followed Kairi, gripping the photos of their parents.

"We can't just let this happen!" Lea punched the wall. "There has to be something we can do!"

Eraqus set the letter down. "No. All we can do is do as Xehanort asks and hope that we can save them."

"Areth, what are you doing?" Baralai watched as the psychologist picked up a briefcase from behind the desk.

"My job." Areth opened the briefcase, pulling out a notebook and a pen. "I help people deal with and prepare for trauma. Those three are going through one of the hardest things anyone could ever imagine doing. I'm going to do what I can for them even if what I can do isn't much." He walked through the school until he found the teacher's lounge where Sora, Riku, and Kairi sat. The princess clung to Sora, sobbing as her entire body shuddered.

Riku noticed the doctor first. "Dr. Areth?"

The psychologist sat down, looking at the three. "I know this is difficult for you, but I'm here to offer whatever help I can, even if it's just a little bit."

"Thank you, doctor."

* * *

The next morning, Sora pulled aside Lea. "Hey, I have a request. If I don't come back, I want you to give this to Ansem." He pulled Dawn's Might off his belt and handed it to the pyro. "I don't want it to be used for evil if at all possible. Please, do this for me."

Lea sighed. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

Lea took the sword. "I'll watch over it until you get back." He tried to talk with confidence, but his voice quivered slightly.

"And if something happens to me," The boy turned his head back, glancing at Kairi, "please save her from Xehanort and take her home."

"Don't talk like that."

"I'm just being realistic, Lea. Please, promise me you'll do as I asked."

"I-I promise…"

"Thank you." Sora walked over to Kairi.

The two said their goodbyes to everyone at around 8:30 before leaving. The two held hands as they walked across the abandoned town. From the shadows, they saw the glowing yellow eyes of Heartless watching them. They reached the gates outside the courthouse.

"This is it…"

Kairi turned, hugging Sora. "Sora, I'm scared."

"So am I, Kai." He leaned in and kissed her. "I love you, and I'm sorry that I can't save you from this."

"I don't blame you." She leaned against him. "I love you too. No matter what happens, that will not change. And maybe, it'll be my turn to save you. We will get out of this somehow, you and me."

"We will."

Hand-in-hand, they walked up the steps into the courthouse. As they pushed the doors open, they beheld their parents, chained to the stone pillars near the entrance.

"Mom! Dad!" The two ran across the stone hall towards their parents.

The parents looked up. "Sora? Kairi?"

Marion gasped. "Son, leave! Get out of here!?"

"Kairi!" Isaac cried out. "Get out of here! Leave us!"

A glowing red blade suddenly appeared at Isaac's throat as Xemnas stepped into the open. Suddenly, Sora and Kairi found themselves surrounded by all of Xehanort's men, all but Ansem. Master Xehanort himself stepped between the two middle pillars. "So, you've come. Good."

* * *

Riku stood outside the school, waiting. A dark corridor opened in front of him. Out stepped Ansem, dragging a white-haired woman with him.

"Mom!?"

The woman looked up, her eyes tearing up. "R-Riku?"

"Now you know that we mean business." Ansem tightened his grip on Artemis' arm. "We have your father as well. Now, we are short some of our 13 Darknesses. If you want your parents to live, you will supply us with the final 5 we need. By tonight, send Roxas, Xion, Naminé, Terra, and Eraqus to us. We will keep Kairi with us until the final battle comes."

Five? But they were short six? Riku didn't question it. He looked at his mother who stared up at him and sobbed. "Riku, please, leave us…"

"Mom, you know I can't do that. Ansem, I'll tell the others what you said and… well, I'll do as you ask as long as my parents are kept safe."

"They will." Ansem smirked before stepping back into the corridor, dragging Riku's mother with him.

"How are we going to get out of this?"

* * *

Master Xehanort approached Sora and Kairi. "I'm certain you know how this is going to go. If you wish your parents to live, you will do as we ask."

"We understand."

Braig motioned towards the final pillar on the right. "Princess, come on over here."

Kairi glanced over at Sora before looking at her parents who shook their heads. Silently, she walked over to Braig. The one-eyed man grabbed the girl, slamming her against the pillar before chaining her up beside her parents.

Sora tensed, everything in him wanting to charge over and free her. But with Young Xehanort standing between his parents, Keyblade at the ready, the boy didn't move. He couldn't.

Once chained up, Kairi couldn't prevent Braig from shoving her to her knees.

Master Xehanort took a few steps toward Sora. "I'm certain you know what is going to happen."

"I do. Just get it over with." The boy looked between his parents and Kairi, avoiding eye contact with Xehanort. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xehanort hold out his Keyblade. The old man's heart suddenly blossomed out of No Name's tip and shot towards him. One last glance at his fiance and parents. "Goodbye."

Levi, Marion, and Kairi all cried out as the heart struck Sora's chest. The boy slumped over, his head leaning down.

At first, nothing happened. Then, a sliver of silver ran along the edges of Sora's hair before spreading across every strand of brown on his head. Slowly, Sora straightened up, eyes closed. His mouth spread into an unhinged, utterly demented smile as his eyes opened to show two orbs of deep gold.

"S-Sora?"

His eyes turned, fixing the princess with a stare that could pierce the soul. "Hello, Princess."

* * *

 **I'm just gonna go.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) If you know the KH 358/2 Days Manga, Xion loved puppies.

(2) Masuo is the first name of Jecht's Japanese voice surnames of all the FF characters that will appear are either their in-game surnames or the names of their Japanese VAs.

(3) He is from the FF10 series.

(4) This is all from FF8.

(5) While I have created family trees for the main cast, I did not make one for Kairi's adoptive family on the islands, so here are the names. Isaac's parents are Jehiel and Selah. Talitha's parents are Jael and the deceased Jehu. Actually, these grandparents are based after my own.

(6) She is from FF14, and she is a white mage.

(7) This is a combination of the Japanese words for seeker "shika", sun "taiyo", keeper "kipa", and moon "tsuki" as the Miqo'te are known as the "Seekers of the Sun" and the "Keepers of the Moon.

(8) This man is the police chief when Sora is an adult, and this is him as he is just starting out in the position.

(9) This is the father of the main hero in Dragon Quest 7.

* * *

 _VAs:_

 _Jael Mera- Samantha Eggar (Hera, Sara Templeton, Queen Guinevere)_

 _Coby Tsuchi- Bob Newhart (Bernard, Leonard the Polar Bear, Arthur Jeffries)_

 _Owari Himitsu- Colleen Clinkenbeard (Rachel Moore, Momo Yaoyorozu, Riza Hawkeye)_

 _Zell Dincht- Greg Cipes (Kevin Levin, Michelangelo, Beast Boy, Iron Fist/Danny Rand)_

 _G'raha Tia- Josh Keaton (Lann, Jack Darby, Shiro, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan)_

 _Marion Kumo- Markie Post (June Darby, Lily Reid, Barbara 'Bunny' Fletcher, Betsy)_

 _Levi Kumo- Will Friedle (Bumblebee, Star-Lord, Deadpool, Ron Stoppable, Kid Flash)_

 _Isaac Mizu- Nathan Fillion (Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, Vigilante, Malcolm Reynolds)_

 _Talitha Mizu- Sumalee Montano (Arcee, Mera, Mantis, Morgan Yu/January, Katana)_

 _Asher Tsuchi- Christopher Sabat (Vegeta, All Might, Elfman Strauss, Yusuke Saito)_

 _Artemis Tsuchi- Carrie Savage (Lisanna Strauss, Aurora, Meena Kandswamy)_

* * *

 **List**

Whether Christian or not, there is one thing we as humans seem to have a problem with. We may claim to be good people, but many times we look at other people and say "at least I'm not like that person". We allow pride to come upon us and make us look down on other people.

It could be something as simple as "I'm glad I'm not like her. She gossips about everyone" to "I'm glad I'm not like that murderer".

While people may do bad things, that does not give us the right to see them as lesser beings.

Speaking specifically to Christians, when someone comes to Christ, we have no right to judge them on who they were. You may have grown up in a Christian family and gone to church every day, but the person next to you could've grown up in an abusive home and done things that they should not have. Still, that is no excuse to look down on them.

When someone accepts Christ, they are family. We should not look at where they came from, but help them in where they are going.

Jesus tells a parable about this in Luke 18:9-14. " _ **9**_ _He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:_ _ **10**_ " _Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector._ _ **11**_ _The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed[_ _a_ _] thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector._ _ **12**_ _I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.'_ _ **13**_ _But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'_ _ **14**_ _I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted_."


	46. Chapter 46: Invasion- Stigma

**Ok, this might be a 3 parter with the islands. We will have to see.**

 **After that final Kh3 trailer (this game will be the death of me) I have to keep writing! Filling the void of those last 40-something days left!**

 **I have to thank Nintendoman01 (even though he was not a fan of rping this… sorry) and Dario Soto for helping me with this arc.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 46: Invasion- Stigma**

* * *

"S-Sora?"

Sora, no, Soranort grinned. "Sorry, Sora's not here. I mean, he is, but he isn't."

"Sora!" Marion sobbed as she looked into her son's face. "Son!"

Soranort laughed, his laughter sending shivers down the spines of everyone present. His eyes turned towards the old master. "Master. It's good to finally be on the winning team."

Braig laughed loudly. "Hearing those words come out of your mouth is gonna take some getting used to, kid."

"Well having to listen to you talk with that screecher of a voice will take some getting used to."

"Why you little-!?"

"Silence!" Master Xehanort approached Soranort. "It is about time that you joined us. While we have this advantage, I would like you to take the time to test out your abilities in the darkness."

The boy walked over to a railing and picked up an empty black coat before putting it on over his own clothes. He stood very near to Kairi. The princess stared at him, eyes wide in shock. She blinked, as if blinking would show this to be but a nightmare. He grinned, kneeling down in front of the princess.

"Sora… y-you're still in there, aren't you?"

"Hello, Princess." The boy grabbed her face in his hands, smirking as she yelped. "What? You asked. Your dear Sora's memories and feelings are still here." She struggled against his grip. "What's wrong? Don't you love your dear Sora anymore?"

"Leave my daughter alone!" Isaac struggled against his chains.

Soranort let Kairi go, giving her father a deadpan stare. "Or you'll what? You're just the mayor. You think you can order people around? All you do is sit on your butt all day signing papers. You have no real power."

"Sora!?"

"That's not Sora." Young Xehanort moved his keyblade closer to Marion's throat.

Soranort turned to the woman. "He's right. Your 'baby boy' is no longer here. He's gone for good." His golden eyes turned back to Kairi as he lifted her chin up. "Though… Master, when this is over, mind if I keep this one?"

"If you so much as dare-?!" Isaac snarled.

"What do you care? You'll be dead by then."

"Sora." Master Xehanort snapped, prompting the boy to stand at attention. "I wish for you to test your new abilities. You have my permission to go into the town and do what you wish, as long as the school and those inside remain intact."

"Sounds fun." He summoned his Keyblade; Key to the Kingdom crackling to life with a strange and wrong dark pulse. "I'll be back, Princess."

Kairi watched the boy saunter off to go destroy his own home. Tears began to force their way down her cheeks, tears she could not hold back no matter how hard she tried.

She was keenly aware of Xehanort's gaze on her. "Keep the princess here. Should Sora attempt to break free, she will be the perfect tool to keep him in check. When he returns," his old eyes turned on the parents, "kill these four."

"No!" Kairi cried. "Please! Let them go!" Her eyes met her parent's their fear mirroring her own. "They haven't done anything!" Looking at Sora's parents, she saw fear, sorrow, and fury. Though, the more she looked at Sora's father… was something wrong with him? He looked pale.

Xemnas huffed. "They are of no use to us. They served their purpose."

"Leave our son alone! Let him go! Take our lives, but spare him!" Sora's mother managed to stand up, her chains sliding up the pillar with her. "Give me back my so-!" Braig grabbed Marion's hair and punched her in the gut. Kairi could've sworn she heard something crack as the woman gasped and fell back to her knees.

"M-Marion!?"

Xehanort turned to his men. "Ansem and Braig will remain here. The rest of you prepare for the final attack and then meet us at the fated place. Once Riku has turned over those we asked for, bring them to me, as well as Sora and the princess."

His men nodded and began to vanish into corridors. Just before the old master turned and vanished into his own, Kairi remembered something. "Xehanort! Wait." She looked into his eyes. "Why did you kill Ms. Venus?"

The parents all gasped. They all knew her well.

"Venus." The old man paused, his voice softer than Kairi had ever heard it before. "It is none of your concern, Princess." With that, he vanished into the darkness.

Ansem was still by the vault, watching over Riku's parents and Braig leaned back in a chair to nap. Now, only Heartless prowled, eyeing Sora and Kairi's parents hungrily as they stalked past.

"Sora…"

* * *

Riku looked down as the others stood in silence. He told them what Ansem said.

"We don't have a choice."

Roxas and Xion clung to each other, the girl looking up at her friend. "Roxas, I'm scared."

"I am too."

Lea sat down, running a hand through his hair. "There really is nothing we can do but obey."

"I wish we had another option, but we don't."

Suddenly, the ground shook, causing all the other islanders to cry out in panic. The children screamed and the adults tried to calm them. Mickey immediately summoned his Keyblade. "Some of us should stay here."

Roxas, Riku, Ven, Xion, Donald, and Goofy summoned their weapons and ran out of the school. The others split up to calm the panicking islanders.

Jiminy hopped across the floor after Lea, who went to the room containing the children. Owari, Selphie, Zell, and G'raha tried to quiet all the screaming, crying kids. "Jiminy, what should I do?"

"Get their attention. I can calm them down."

Lea put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. The kids all stopped as he held up his hands. "Hey, it's gonna be alright. Don't worry. You're safe." He glanced at the cricket who'd jumped to his shoulder. "I'm not good with kids so I hope that helped…" Suddenly, he felt a weight slam into his legs. Then another, and another.

All the kids ran over, hugging his legs as they sobbed. Clinging to the only adult in the room. Jiminy smiled sadly. "I think you're doing fine."

* * *

Mickey, the others following, ran into town. Smoke billowed from the square. Just as they entered the area, another building went up in flames, rubble flying in every direction.

A figure, obscured by smoke, held out a hand. A blast, the purple light erupting through the smoke, slammed into another building, sending dark flames shooting up, reaching for the sky.

"Hey!" Riku's grip tightened on his Keyblade. All of this… what was the point? "Why are you attacking the town!?"

The figure stopped, turning towards them, taking steps closer. A moment later, they stepped into view. "Why? Because it's fun!"

"No!"

"I-It can't be…"

"S-sora…!?"

Soranort chuckled, his golden eyes shining with adrenaline. "What did you think would happen to your dear friend? Now please, leave me alone. I've been given permission to do whatever I like to this town as long as I spare the school and everyone inside. And this is far too much fun." He fixed them with his gaze, relishing in their shocked, terrified faces. "I said shoo."

"W-we can't let you!" Goofy's voice cracked as he looked at his close friend.

"Oh?" Sora lazily held out his hand to the left, blowing up another building. "Well, then I guess Riku's parents aren't as safe as they were a minute ago." His mouth unhinged into a smile. "I mean, we only need them alive. A broken bone or two won't matter."

"Stop!" Riku's panicked voice cried out as he stepped between his old friend and the others. "W-we'll go. Back to the school, right?"

"Yes. Now scat."

The small band stood there for a moment longer, unable to watch, but unable to tear their eyes away from their friend as he destroyed his own home.

* * *

"Sora… he's really?"

"He's gone." Riku slammed his fist into the wall. "He was right. We should've expected something like this. Ansem said I was to supply the final five vessels. I thought the number was off… he was counting Sora. I'm sorry… especially those of you who... I don't have a choice."

Terra placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "We know. We're going to go without a fight. We won't make you have to use force."

"Thanks." Riku walked off, leaning against the school wall.

Why?

Why this?

"Riku."

He turned to see Areth approaching. "Oh, Dr. Areth. Wh-what's up?"

"I had a question." He sighed. "I was wondering if these attackers would kill anyone they find out of the school? My mother is still missing, and while I originally assumed she would be in the mansion safe room…"

Oh no.

With everything that happened. They forgot.

"Dr. Areth, I-I'm sorry. With everything that happened, we forgot to tell you… Kairi, Naminé, and Aqua found your mother. Sh-she's dead."

The psychologist froze, his face unreadable. "I-I had a feeling. How did she die?"

"I don't know. I didn't see her body. They just said she died."

Areth turned, walking down the hall. He immediately went to the blonde girl who looked like Kairi, Naminé. "Excuse me. Riku says you found my mother's body. Please, tell me what happened."

Naminé blinked. "Oh, you're Ms. Venus' son… I'm sorry."

"Just tell me what happened."

"We found her… her neck was broken." The doctor's hand went to his face as his shoulders began shaking. He probably assumed she died from shock during the initial attack. "W-we found this lying beside her. Kairi didn't know if it belonged to her or not." The girl handed a small object to the doctor.

Areth turned the object in his hands, noting an inscription under the dried blood. As he rubbed it off with his finger as he read. "No matter how far apart we are, we share the same sky." He sighed. "Thank you, Naminé… I-I'm sorry about what's happening with all of you."

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

Sora became bored. In a few hours, he returned. The courthouse seemed empty, except for Braig snoring in a chair, the parents who also slept due to exhaustion, and Kairi.

The princess looked up at his approach. "Sora?"

"Well, that was fun." He laughed. "Your pals tried to stop me, but they can't." He looked at the clock. "Oh wow. It's almost 3 in the afternoon. Your friends only have a few hours left. Guess they're taking their sweet time."

"Sora, please. This isn't you."

Now he just looked annoyed. "Get it through your pretty little head. Sora is gone."

"No," her expression hardened, "he's in there. I know it."

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

"I just know it." For hours, she'd sat there, thinking. If Terra could fight back, Sora could too. And only if she could get in combat… if only she could activate her Aeris form. She could free him. "No matter what you do to me or anyone else, I know he's in there."

"Oh yeah, because he's just a nice guy."

"He's more than that… He's a light."

"And now that light is gone."

"Or just hidden." The princess smiled, despite herself. "Xehanort is gone. This is your chance, Sora. Come back to me. Don't break your promise to my dad…"

The boy stared at her for a moment before laughing. "Oh, Princess. You don't get it. Sora is gone, forever. Nothing you can do will bring him back." Kairi laughed. "What's so funny?"

"I don't think you understand Sora at all.."

"Oh really?"

"He cares for me. He made a promise to my father. Sora will return. He would never hurt me, and he won't let you hurt me."

"Really?" Soranort's eyes flashed. "I'll take that as a challenge then." He grabbed her collar, lifting her off the floor. "I can do whatever I want." He drew back his hand; Kairi, despite herself, flinched as his intentions became clear. But as his hand drew closer to slap her. It stopped, inches from her face. "Huh?" Soranort's hand shook as he tried to slap her again, only for his hand to stop short again. "How?"

"I told you. Sora won't hurt me."

The boy let out a snarl before dropping her back on the ground. "I might not be able to hurt you physically, but I can still hurt you." He summoned his Keyblade and turned towards the parents. "Who should die first? Your mom or dad?"

"No!"

"Oh," he laughed, "now I have your attention." The tip of his Keyblade brushed Isaac as he walked past. "How about your father first?"

"No! Please don't!" Kairi struggled against the chains. Every ounce of strength fighting to break free. Despite the threats of Xehanort, she summoned her Keyblade as Soranort raised his Keyblade to bring it crashing down on her father. "NOOO!"

Her eyes turned white.

Light slammed into Soranort, sending him careening across the room. Braig tumbled out of his chair. Ansem came running up from the vault. All the parents awoke.

The boy rubbed his head, gasping as Kairi stood over him, her Aeris form lighting up the entire room. " _Xehanort. You will release him._ "

"Kill her parents!"

Braig summoned his guns only for a rope of light to wind around his arms and slam him into the ground. Ansem moved to attack, but a similar rope wound around him. The two vessels screamed as the light burned against them.

" _You will not interfere. Tell your master that he has failed._ "

Ansem managed to open a dark corridor and fall into it. Retreat or risk death. Braig did the same.

Soranort attempted to open his own corridor, but Kairi's Aeris wings batted him away into the middle of the room. Kairi's mother gasped as her daughter turned towards them. "K-Kairi?"

"Be free."

Light erupted through the room. Soranort screamed as it enveloped him. Darkness dripped off his body, falling to the floor like inky drops. The chains around the parents turned white for a moment and then vanished.

Kairi lowered to the floor. When her feet touched, she went back to normal. The light slowly faded.

There.

There lay Sora. The black coat torn to shred around him, fizzling away into the dark. His brown hair still shuddering slightly from the force of the light. He groaned, sitting up. "K-Kairi?" Blue eyes.

"Sora!" The girl tackled him in a hug. "You're back!"

The boy blinked. "Y-you saved me?"

"Of course."

Suddenly, the ground shook, and rubble began to fall from the ceiling. The two felt a hand on their shoulders as Isaac kelt over them, his eyes wide with relief and panic. "C-can you stand, Sora?"

"Yeah…"

"Grab your dad. I'll get Artemis and Asher!"

The mayor ran down to the vault, tearing the door open as the roof began caving in. Riku's parents looked up. "Isaac?"

"Move, now!"

Sora stumbled to his father's side. His mom seemed to be trying to help him stand, but she kept clutching her ribs. Sora threw his father's arm over his shoulder, now noticing the red, swelling, pus-filled injuries on the back of his dad's legs. "Dad…"

"Go!" Asher appeared on Levi's other side, throwing his other arm over his shoulder. "This place is coming down!"

Kairi and Talitha helped Marion as they all ran out of the courthouse just as it collapsed. Heartless littered the area outside, ready to attack. "Go! Sora and I can handle them!"

The parents hurried off, Sora and Kairi summoning their Keyblades to ward off the swarm. Sora, however, looked drained, like using the Keyblade sapped him. "Kairi… I… "

"Sora, go with them. I'll hold them off." The princess reached over and took Key to the Kingdom from his hands. "Go now!"

The boy hurried after his parents, too tired to argue. Kairi blasted back the Heartless with magic from both swords before running after him.

* * *

"Open the doors!"

Everyone looked up as Tidus and Wakka opened the doors to the gym. Those Xehanort asked for were standing together, getting prepared to say their final goodbyes as Asher and Isaac came in supporting Levi, followed by Talitha and Artemis with Marion.

"Mom! Dad!" Riku ran over, not believing his eyes.

"Get a doctor!" His dad yelled, laying Levi on his side. "HURRY!"

Donald and Aqua ran over, immediately casing Curza on the man who coughed. Talitha waved them over. "Over here! She needs some help too!"

Aqua cast the healing spell on Marion as the woman collapsed beside her husband. "Levi…"

"You ok, honey?"

"I am."

Kairi came in a minute later, pulling a down and hesitant Sora by the hand. "Kairi! SORA!"

The boy found himself immediately tackled by Donald and Goofy, who hugged him with tears in their eyes. "You're alright! You're you again!"

"Mom… Dad…" Sora gently pushed his friends off and moved to his parent's side.

Marion clutched his hand. "Sora, I'm so happy you're alright. I was so scared."

"What happened to you two?"

Levi grimaced as Y'shtola came over and began looking at his legs. "Take a guess."

"Someone," Y'shtola looked around, "get me some antibiotics, alcohol, gauze, and some water!" Xion ran off to get the objects as the Miqo'te continued to check the wounds. "You have third-degree burns that never got treated. They're highly infected."

"Yep. Know that."

The doctor touched his forehead. "You're burning up. Someone get him some water right now. We need to get his fever down. And get him to the nurse's office. I can treat him better there."

Terra and Eraqus helped move Levi to the office. Sora looked at his mom. "What about you?"

"I think your friend's magic fixed my broken ribs." She reached over, drawing her son into a hug. "You're safe… my little boy."

Sora began to cry, hugging his mother back. "Mom… I'm sorry. I-I should've stopped them. I should've-"

"You did nothing wrong. If anything, your father and I should've done something. We couldn't protect you. That's our job, Sora."

The other parents, finally able to relax, sat down, allowing the events to wash over them. Isaac looked at Sora. That frown, that broken expression, it looked so wrong on the boy's face. "Sora, what they did… You didn't do anything wrong. That wasn't you…"

"You're a good kid. We know you would never do anything to help them."

Kairi glanced over her parents. "Are you hurt?"

"A few scratches, but nothing too bad."

"Same here," Asher looked at Riku, answering the question before he asked. "Don't worry, Riku. We're alright. I've gotten worse injuries building a boat."

Mickey's face darkened, his voice low so that only those right around him could hear. "Kairi and Riku's parents made it out with only scratches, but Sora's parents…"

"All this, to break Sora."

"Kairi," Aqua asked, "what happened to Xehanort?"

"He left. Braig and Ansem stayed behind to deal with things here. When I used the Aeris to free Sora, I drove them off. I think they're gone now."

Eraqus, who'd come in just in time to catch the end of the conversation, walked over. "I suggest we remain here for a while. Xehanort might return and we can help get everyone settled. I know rebuilding will take time, but we could help get things started. The Heartless will probably remain, so we could get the food and medicine the people here need."

"I agree."

Mickey walked over to the parents. "Right now, let's give them some time to rest and recover."

"Yes."

* * *

Jiminy slowly made his way into the room set aside for the parents to rest in. "Excuse me." The five looked at him. "I wanted to come see how you were faring."

"We're alright. You're Jiminy, aren't you."

"That's right. Jiminy Cricket at your service." The little bug hopped onto Marion's knee. "I'm sorry all of you had to endure this."

Isaac laid back on his makeshift bed. "Thank you. I only wish we could've done more to protect our kids."

"Mrs. Kumo," the cricket sat down, "your husband is doing better. The medicine along with some magic and potions is working to heal him." He pulled out his journal. "I hope you don't mind, but I would like to ask you all what happened. How did Xehanort capture all of you?"

Marion sighed. "Well…"

* * *

 _Levi and Marion finished setting the table, making sure to set out a third plate just in case their son came home._

" _There." A scream suddenly wrang outside. "Huh? What's going on?" The couple ran to the front door, but a dark cloud appeared over it. As much as they pulled, the door would not open._

" _Out the back door!"_

 _The two turned around only to pause as two figures in black coats stood between them and their exit. One was young, maybe 18 years old, and the other was older, but both had silver hair and deep gold eyes._

 _The older man reached over and pulled a photograph of the couple with a young Sora off the wall. "So you are Levi and Marion Kumo. I must say you are underwhelming. But you will come all the same." He crushed the photo in his hand before his other hand glowed, a red blade of energy appearing._

 _Levi knew immediately who that man was by the blade. Xemnas. He lunged forward, punching the younger man. "Marion, run!"_

 _A moment later, Xemnas grabbed the man by the hair with one hand. The other, glowing red, slashed downward, dragging the red-hot blades across the backs of his legs. "Try and run now."_

" _LEVI!" Marion gasped, pausing in the back doorway. Her mistake. Young Xehanort leapt up, slamming her into the wall, knocking her unconscious._

 _At the Tsuchi house, Asher was out in his workshop, finishing up on a new boat. He jumped as he heard his wife scream from inside the house. He ran, slamming the door open. "Artemis!"_

 _A man in black, his silver hair falling down his back, held his wife against the wall by the throat; he towered over the 4-foot tall woman who looked on the verge of passing out. "And here you are."_

" _Let her go!"_

" _L-Look out…"_

 _Asher heard the warning too late. A dark being with bandages across its face grabbed the man and slammed his face on the ground._

 _Artemis choked out a scream as her husband fell. Her eyes looked up at Ansem, who tightened his grip on her throat, lifting her up. "Now for you." Whether it was from the lack of air or just her fainting, Artemis passed out._

 _Across town, Isaac looked up from his paperwork as his wife came into the room. "How'd the meeting go?"_

" _Good. They gave in," she smirked, "and I now own the company."_

" _Good going sweet-"_

 _An arrow gun bolt shattered the window behind the mayor's head. The couple dove to the floor to avoid the glass. Isaac felt a foot plant on his back, and he looked up to see Braig glowering over him. "Hello, mister mayor." The one-eyed man brought down his boot on Isaac's head, rendering him unconscious._

 _On the other side of the desk, Talitha sat up, only to find herself staring at a pair of black boots. "Huh?" She looked up to see Isa standing over her._

" _Goodnight." He grabbed her head and slammed it into the wooden desk._

* * *

Jiminy wrote down every detail as described. His small stomach turned at the thought of Xehanort's men attacking them, but what's done is done.

"Thank you."

"How are the kids?"

The cricket closed his journal. "Riku and Kairi are both asleep. The events of today have exhausted them. As for Sora, he's been in the nurse's office with Mr. Kumo. I was about to go check on him actually."

"Please do. And please, there's no need to be formal. Just call us by our first names."

"I will." Jiminy jumped down and walked towards the door. "Get some rest." His little legs carried him down the halls. Most everyone was asleep or heading to bed, so very few lights were on. The light from the nurse's office glowed down the hall.

When Jiminy entered, he saw Levi laying on a cot, sleeping. Sora sat in a chair, eyes half open as he watched his father. The cricket jumped up on a nearby table, opting to just watch over the two of them during the night.

* * *

"Sora," Roxas came into the office the next morning, "how's your dad?"

"Still running a fever."

"Oh. Well, the rest of us are going to head around town, scope things out, gather supplies. Stuff like that. Wanna come?"

"No…"

"Alright. Jiminy, you coming?"

"I'll be there in a minute. I'd like to talk to Sora first." Roxas nodded, leaving the cricket with the other boy. "Sora, I know you're going through a lot. Maybe you should talk about it. Getting it off your chest might help."

Sora didn't seem to hear his friend. "Don't worry, Dad. I'll make Xehanort pay for what he's done."

"Sora." Jiminy hopped directly in front of Sora, standing on the edge of the cot where Levi still slept. "Your father is strong. He'll pull through."

"He never should've been put in this situation at all. None of this should've happened." His hands came up and covered his face. "This is all my fault!"

"Sora, this is on Xehanort, not you."

"Really!? My parents were hurt because of me! Xehanort wanted to hurt _me_ so he went after them! Why am I the cause of everyone's pain?"

"Sora, you're not-"

"But I am! Kairi was kidnapped last year because of me! Roxas and Xion lost everything because of ME! MY PARENTS WERE HURT BECAUSE OF ME!" His fist slammed on the nearby table, rattling the medical instruments. "Whether I personally did it to them or not, without me… none of it would've happened. And then, I attacked my own home." His entire body shuddered slightly. "It was so cold… I could see what I was doing through a haze. It was like, every dark thought that has ever crept into my head was fighting to come out, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I tried to hurt Kairi…"

Jiminy listened until the boy finished talking. "Sora, listen. I honestly don't know what to say… but there is one thing I do know. You are a good person. You're a light. Xehanort is trying to break you, because he fears you. Sora, you can't let Xehanort get the best of you."

"He already has."

Sora stood up and walked off.

"Sora…"

Neither Sora or Jiminy noticed Levi's eyes opening, following his son out the door.

* * *

"Are you sure?"

"I am." Areth adjusted his glasses. "I want to see my mother, and I need to get some things she wanted me to have after she passed."

A small group of men and women approached. "We need to come too. Our work is too important. We work at the geological observatory, and we have to keep tabs on the volcano."

Kairi nodded. "Lea and I can go with Dr. Areth."

"I'll go with these guys." Riku jabbed his thumb towards the scientists.

Kairi, Lea, and Riku left with their groups. A minute later, Jiminy came hopping out, glancing around. "Did Sora come this way?"

"No."

"Isn't he with his dad?"

The cricket jumped up on Roxas' shoulder. "He… He left after he got angry. I guess he went out another entrance. He wasn't in good sorts, and I'm worried."

Xion and Roxas looked between one another. "We can go look for him."

"Thank you."

The others all split up across town, finding as much supplies as they possibly could.

Kairi and Lea went up to the mansion with the doctor, his daughter, Owari, followed behind, catching up after a few minutes.

They opened the front door and everyone immediately covered their noses. The smell… oh, it was horrible. Areth gagged. "L-let's make this fast. Lea, there's a box in the upstairs room to the right. It should have my name on it. Grab it and we'll go."

Slowly, he and Owari walked into the dining room. Kairi waited in the entrance as Lea came down with a wooden box. A minute later, Areth and Owari came out, their eyes red.

As much as they wanted to mourn in their home, the smell drove them out. They walked in silence until Areth just sat down on the ground. "Give me the box… It's all I have left from her." He took the box from Lea and set it in front of him. Owari, Kairi, and Lea sat around the box.

"Dad," Owari spoke softly, "Grandma said you weren't supposed to open this until she died, right?"

"That's right." He opened up the lid and they all peered inside.

There wasn't much there. A few stacks of papers. A dress. A few faded photographs.

On top lay a journal, leather-bound. Areth gently picked it up. "I've seen this. This was my mother's diary. She'd kept this since she was a little girl. Her entire life is in here."

"What about this?"

Kairi gently picked up a parcel wrapped in brown paper and twine. It felt like a book. A note stuck out from underneath the twine. Lea leaned over and read the message scribbled on the paper. "It says, 'To my dear husband. I had this done for our fifth wedding anniversary, but I couldn't wait that long to give it to you. I hope it makes your childhood dream come true. Love, Venus.' A gift from your mom to your dad."

"Not my dad." Areth corrected. "My mom had an affair, and after she found out she was pregnant with me, she left my dad. I've never met him before. I guess she did love him at one time. Actually, she never told me about him, no one did. He ran away and the Himitsu family disowned him; they only took in my mother because she had nowhere to go. My mother was very honest about the entire thing."

"Dang."

"Aren't you going to unwrap it?" Owari took the wrapped parcel. Removing the note and sliding off the twine, she unwrapped the top of the paper. It was a book. A book bound in a deep purple with black ornate edges. In the center of the cover, in beautiful letters, the title read "The Same Sky". "How pretty!" Owari tore off the paper, though some still clung to the cover, and immediately began reading.

"We better get back." Areth packed up everything but the book in his daughter's hands. "It's not safe out here."

* * *

"Anything else you guys need?" Riku looked around the geological observatory. Scientific instruments lined the walls. The massive computers filled an entire room(1). Riku watched them all go about their business, but it was so boring.

He couldn't just leave them.

The Heartless could attack. So, until someone else came to check on them, he had to stay here. "Hey, anywhere I can just sit back and sleep?"

"The break room."

"Thanks." Riku went into the empty break room and found a chair. He may have gotten on Sora's case many times for napping, but he liked a good nap, and these last 24 hours were absolutely stressful beyond belief. He deserved a good nap or two.

However, his dreams would not give him any relief.

* * *

"Sora!"

"Sora!"

Roxas and Xion walked around the town, but they could find no sign of their friend. Jiminy rubbed his chin. "Maybe we could ask Sora's parents."

"Good idea."

The three went back to the school. Inside, people seemed slightly calmer. Isaac had taken back control and was already working with the islanders on a plan to rebuild their homes. His wife seemed to be organizing people into the groups her husband came up with. Asher seemed to be looking at their building supplies to figure out a strategy. Artemis seemed to be getting the children to help with some of the cleaning around the school.

Making their way to the nurse's office, they found Marion and Levi. Marion sat by her husband, who now looked far better than he had even that morning. Y'shtola handed the woman a bowl of soup. "Thank you, Y'shtola." She noticed the three in the doorway. "Oh, hello."

"Hello, Mrs. Kumo."

Levi smiled at them. "Hi. I don't believe we've been introduced."

"I'm Roxas and this is Xion."

The two parents gasped slightly. "You're Roxas?"

"Yes."

Levi smiled. "Mind helping me sit up?" The boy walked over and helped Sora's father sit up. "Sora told us about you."

"That doesn't surprise me." Roxas smiled. "Um, we were wondering if you knew where Sora was. We can't find him."

Levi allowed Marion to feed him a spoonful of soup before sighing. "I heard him this morning. He blames himself for a lot of what has happened." His eyes glanced at the two kids in the room. "He specifically mentioned you two, saying that he was to blame for what you two went through."

"But," Xion bit her lip, "it was all Xehanort. He didn't do a thing."

"He said that without him, Xehanort couldn't have done what he did."

Roxas huffed. "That's dumb. Xehanort did it all. I know I was a little angry at Sora at one time, but I didn't really understand him and what kind of guy he was."

"He shouldn't be alone." Marion spoke up. "We know our son. He acts strong, like nothing is going wrong, but when he's alone, all the weight of the world seems to fall on his shoulders. I think I might know where he is. There's a cove, he and I would go there when he was little. It was kinda our hideaway for when he was feeling down and wanted to get away, and it was our secret fishing spot. I can show you wh-."

"Levi Kumo, you are not leaving this bed."

"But honey."

"Don't you 'but honey' me. Yes, Sora needs us, but you getting up and hurting yourself more isn't going to do any good. Tell them where it is."

The man sighed. "Fine…"

* * *

"You're really enjoying that book." Kairi leaned over, glancing at the book in Owari's hands.

"You should read it!" The silver-haired girl handed Kairi the book before picking up her grandmother's diary. "I'll read this."

Kairi opened the book. The first page had a small dedication and explanation. " _To Venus, my best and only friend._ " Followed by. " _You were twelve when you wrote this, Xay. You deserve this._ " Kairi continued to read. The adventures of Vee and Xay as they left the islands to explore worlds. Apparently whoever wrote this knew something of the Keyblade as both Xay and Vee had Keyblades. Who wrote this?

Kairi looked at the cover. A little paper covered the author's name. Slowly, she peeled it off.

"Wh-what!? No way…"

* * *

Riku tossed in his sleep, rocking the office chair he slept in.

 _He found himself standing in a field of silver grass near a beach of crystal clear water. "Wow, never been here before."_

" _Yep, new for you." A voice laughed._

 _Riku wanted to turn, but he couldn't. "Who are you?"_

" _You'll find out soon enough." The voice, initially somewhat cheerful, turned dark and serious. "Riku, listen. Your world is in danger."_

" _What? From Xehanort?"_

" _Yes and no. You will see the signs. Don't ignore them. Trust your instincts…"_

The dream, short but confusing, faded away.

"What was that?" Riku sat up. He blinked. What a weird dream. He looked around and could see the scientists in the next room looking at some computer screens. He stood up and went in. "Is something wrong?"

A female scientist smiled. "Not 'wrong' just strange. The volcano is producing some strange seismic activity. Activity is normal, I mean we record about eighty earthquakes a day normally, but these are strange. There's a rhythm to them."

"Rhythm?"

"Yes, a rising and falling motion at regular intervals. Think of it as almost breathing. None of us has ever seen anything like this before."

Riku's dream immediately flashed before his eyes. "I'm going up to the crater to look inside."

* * *

In the darkness, walled in by rocks, a great rocky mass hunched over a small point of red glowing rocks, feet dug into the ground, it breathed. It's back rising and falling with every exhale.

Up and down.

Up and down.

Up and down.

It knew.

Its time was drawing near.

Soon it would breathe its last.

And oh, what a final breath it would be.

What a song.

A song of death… chaos… and fire.

* * *

 **Yep, definitely a 3 parter.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) The islands are not technologically advanced according to Nomura, so I imagine that they have old school computers.

* * *

 _VAs:_

 _Mysterious man- Jason Douglas (Gildarts Clive, Beerus, Fourth Kind, Miles)_

* * *

 **O Holy Night**

I'm going to be showing the Christmas story in different parts.

This devo will have the beginning of the story in Luke 1:26-38.

" _ **26**_ _In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,_ _ **27**_ _to a virgin betrothed[_ _b_ _] to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary._ _ **28**_ _And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"[_ _c_ _]_ _ **29**_ _But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be._ _ **30**_ _And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God._ _ **31**_ _And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus._ _ **32**_ _He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,_ _ **33**_ _and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."_

 _ **34**_ _And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"[_ _d_ _]_

 _ **35**_ _And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[_ _e_ _] will be called holy—the Son of God._ _ **36**_ _And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren._ _ **37**_ _For nothing will be impossible with God."_ _ **38**_ _And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant[_ _f_ _] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her."_


	47. Chapter 47: Invasion- Inferno

**HAPPY NEW YEAR**

 **Here we go!**

 **This chapter might be very long because I WILL finish the island arc here.**

 **BTW, there will be a shorter story coming out over time, with some information… actually with a preview at the end of this chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Sasuke © to Yamichaos27!**

 **Harry Dalton © to Universal!**

 **Other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 47: Invasion- Inferno**

* * *

"Sora!"

Roxas and Xion ran to the boy who walked dejectedly along the beach. They hadn't even located the cove Sora's dad specified. "Hey, guys…" He couldn't even look them in the eyes.

"Sora." Roxas immediately grabbed the boy by the shoulders. "Your dad is worried. And he said…" His eyes narrowed. "He said you blamed yourself for what happened to me and Xion. Don't ever think that it was your fault!"

"But it wa-"

Roxas clocked Sora in the jaw. "Roxas!" Xion grabbed him. "Why did you do that?"

"Sora! Stop blaming yourself for everything!"

"Roxas…" Sora rubbed his jaw, looking up at his former Nobody who looked so furious, but he had tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize! If you apologize one more time I'll punch you again! Look, we're all stressed out, but you're the one who always cheers us up. We need you, and your parents need you too. Come on, let's go."

Well, that did it. Sora stood up, his eyes on the ground as he walked back towards the school.

* * *

Kairi, clutching the book, ran into the main gym. "Jiminy," she ran over to where the cricket sat, writing in his journal, "could you have our group and Dr. Areth meet me in the library? I need to talk to all of you."

"Alright."

Kairi hurried back to the library. Owari sat at the conference table, reading her grandmother's journal. Eventually, everyone came into the library, even Sora with Roxas and Xion, however, Sora looked… depressed. That look didn't suit him at all.

"What's going on, Kairi?"

The girl took a deep breath. "I found something… Dr. Areth, you said your mother left her husband after she cheated on him, correct?"

"Yes…"

"This book was written by her husband." She held up the book, slamming it on the table as she slid it towards them. "Read the author's name!"

 _The Same Sky_ by Xehanort Himitsu.

"Xehanort!?" Even Sora's depressed expression vanished in shock.

"He wrote this when he was twelve." Kairi tapped the book, her voice softening. "Doctor, he was married to your mother."

Areth picked up the book. "The man who… the man who did all this. He killed my mother… he was her husband."

Eraqus stared at the doctor before letting out a long sigh. "Yes, he was married to a woman named Venus." All eyes turned on him. "I remember the day he brought her to our home. Our master was furious at first, but when he explained how he'd eloped with her the night before, our master let her stay. He gave her a star shard so she wouldn't be cooped up on our world. One day, she left Xehanort and returned here."

"H-how do you know this?"

"I trained alongside Xehanort." Eraqus looked at the book. "I actually remember that. Venus showed it to me. She was so excited to give it to him, but she left a month before their fifth wedding anniversary."

Owari looked at her grandmother's journal. "So, that's why he killed Grandma? Because she left him?"

"I think so." Areth reached into his pocket. "Kairi, you and your friends found this by my mother's body." He laid a small ring, made of cheap metal on the table. Carved into the outside of the ring were the words 'No matter how far apart we are', and on the inside was carved, 'We share the same sky'. "It looked somewhat familiar and now I know why. My mother wore one just like it. It was her wedding ring. I guess… Xehanort must have left his after he killed her."

Xehanort's wife.

He'd killed her.

Owari fingered the pages of her grandmother's journal. "I-I guess the person she called 'Xay' was Xehanort."

"Yes, that's what she called him, and he called her 'Vee'." Eraqus smiled at the memory.

"Xay and Vee."

Everyone talked quietly, unsure of what to make of all of this. It was no secret that the islands were Xehanort's home, but this was something else entirely. Jiminy immediately went to Eraqus, trying to get any sort of detail out of him, but the old master kept quiet, looking at Areth. Eraqus ignored anything from the cricket, his mind elsewhere.

"What else does the journal say?" Mickey looked at the small book in Owari's hands.

"Well, she talks about her childhood. Apparently, she had a drunk for a dad who would hit her; her only friend was Xay, I mean, Xehanort. She talks about all these different worlds she visited. She only went to one with Xehanort. She talks about how he started acting weird and felt… dark. He began to scare her. That's as far as I've gotten."

Mickey gently took the book. "What does the last entry say? It might have some more clues." He turned through the pages until he came to the last entry. Slowly, the king read the final page. " _I get the feeling that I will not live much longer. I do not know how I will die, but I hope, Areth, you will understand. There are many things I want to tell you. Though, most can be found in the box I left you, but there is one thing you must know. Areth, I lied. I'd always told you that you were born from an affair, but I lied. I loved your father, Xehanort, but something happened to him and I began to fear him. I didn't want you near him or him near you. I love you, Areth, and I hope you can forgive me…_ "

Again, silence fell. "Y-you're Xehanort's… son."

"I am…" Areth sat down. "The maniac who hurt my friends, killed my mother, and attacked my home… he's my father."

* * *

" _This world is just too small…"_

" _Yes, it is. One day we'll leave it behind, just you and me."_

" _Yes, we will… Venus."_

* * *

Riku climbed up the side of the mountain, followed by one of the scientists. The ground felt warm beneath him, shuddering slightly. Steam rose up in the air as he peaked into the crater.

He'd seen photographs of the crater before, so he expected steam and a lava dome, and he saw that, but something seemed off. The lava dome seemed strangely shaped. Narrowing his eyes, Riku looked closer.

"Oh no…"

"What is it?"

"We have to go, now!"

* * *

"What's that!?"

A loud horn echoed across the island, repeating every few seconds.

"Grab what you can and head for the docks!" Areth shoved everything he could into his briefcase.

"What's going on?"

Kairi began grabbing stuff. "Volcano alert. The mountain is going to erupt."

The people inside the school began grabbing everything they could save and hurried out the school doors. Asher helped Levi out of the infirmary. "Sora! Help me out!"

Sora ran over, throwing his dad's arm over his shoulder. "Dad, are you…?"

"I can walk, I just need some help."

The others grabbed items and some of the kids before heading towards the shoreline. As they ran, they passed by the same figures who assisted them on Disney Town. The glowing people watched the islanders retreat from the school.

" _We can't just let this building fall. It's all they have._ "

" _And we won't_." The woman in white laid her hand on the school. A blanket of soft white light covered it. " _It will stand._ "

Mickey looked up as Riku and the scientists joined them. "What's going on?"

"I'll explain more in a minute. We need to get everyone on boats and away from shore."

"LOOK OUT!"

A large column of shadows, which Aqua and Mickey recognized as the Demon Tide(1) shot out of the ocean as they reached the docks. The wave of heartless wormed through the harbor, destroying every single boat in moments before it vanished back into the ocean depths.

"No… we're trapped."

Riku ran a hand through his hair. "Ok, ok… we've done this before… we can do it again."

"What?"

The young master looked around. "It's the Firebird Heartless. It's doing something to the mountain."

Everyone tensed. Eraqus was the first to take a deep breath. "Alright. It will take too long to get everyone off the beach without those boats. We will have to make a stand here." He tapped the shoulder of one of the scientists. "What's your name?"

"Harry Dalton(2)."

"What can you tell us about the volcano?"

Harry pulled a folder out from under his arm. "We gathered what information we could before we evacuated. The volcano is going to…"

The ground suddenly began to shake and a cloud of dark ash billowed from the top of the mountain. "Oh no…"

"This is nothing," Harry gasped, "the mountain is only clearing its throat. We need to prepare for the worst."

"Right." Eraqus took a look around. "Terra, Riku, come with me. We need to create a lava barrier. Everyone else, gather the islanders in one area. We need to be able to put ourselves between them and the volcano."

"On it!"

Riku and Terra ran along the shoreline, casting Quakeza to create a barrier of rock. Eraqus moved closer and created a deep trench to divert the lava. On the beach, everyone gathered together in one place near the destroyed docks, keeping the children closest to the water, and the adults gathered around them in a semi-circle.

Ash began pouring down like gray snow. Thunder and lightning crackled around the mountain's summit as ash continued to fill the sky, turning the bring day to a darkness as cold as night.

Riku, Terra, and Eraqus finished their tasks and returned to the others. "What now?"

"We wait."

The group stood in a semi-circle around the islanders, waiting. Ash continued to fall on them. In a way, it was strangely beautiful. They saw the glow of the lava as it reached their barrier, running along the trench to the rock wall. The glow lit up the rocks.

"Listen," Eraqus spoke softly, but his voice held a sharp edge, "when the mountain blows we will have to hold back the blast. Use all the magic you have."

Lea gulped. "We're literally about to take on a force of nature."

"Yeah…"

Inside the mountain, the Firebird gave one final pulse of energy into the mountain before raising its head and letting out a final roar. Fire consumed it and erupted into the sky.

The mountaintop exploded.

A dark cloud, glowing with fire, surged down the slope. Rocks rained down as the pyroclastic flow(3) cascaded down the mountain, reducing everything before it to rubble.

"Ready!?"

The hot cloud barrelled down on the people gathered on shore.

"NOW!"

The group all held out their weapons, casting Shieldza together. A barrier of magic spread out around them just as the flow slammed into them. The force almost knocking them off their feet; indeed, it would have if Eraqus had not jumped back at the last second and used his magic to create golden chains which wrapped around their waists and anchored them to the ground.

"K-keep going!"

The force of nature beat against their shield, spilling around and over. Even through the barrier, they could all feel the volcanic heat that longed to get past them. Rocks of massive sizes slammed into the shield, piling up.

Then, just as suddenly as it began, the flow stopped.

"W-we did it…" The shield came down and the full heat left from the flow hit them, causing everyone to back away.

"We just took on a literal force of nature…" Lea sat down. "You know, we should just take the next week off…"

Sora, however, looked around. "Everything is gone…" Not a building stood.

Except for one.

"Look!"

The school glowed a bright white and a magical barrier melted off to reveal a nearly spotless building.

"No way…"

"I am not surprised that you survived." The rocks around them crumpled to dust as a pair of feet marched toward them. Xehanort's golden eyes glinted as he looked around.

The islanders all shaking.

His enemies lying exhausted on the ground.

Oh, how easy this could be.

Out of the crowd of islanders, a man stepped forward, towards the old man. His purple hair now dusted with silvery ash, and his emerald eyes shining. "You're Xehanort, right?"

"I am."

"Why? This was your home, was it not? You had family here."

How could this man know that?

"What happened to make you hate this home so much? To kill your own wife?"

This man knew a lot of things. Wait. That hair, and those eyes. Ah, this was Venus' child. "You understand nothing, boy."

"I understand more than you think, Father."

Father!?

"Stop this!" Areth stepped forward. "You still have family here: a son and a granddaughter. You have a chance to put whatever hurt you had behind you. Whatever your goal is, it isn't worth all this loss!"

Xehanort stared at the man, his son, apparently. "Bring him and his daughter with us."

Areth gasped as a gloved hand grabbed his neck. Xemnas smirked at the man as Ansem suddenly appeared behind Owari, grabbing her.

"STOP!"

Xemnas and Ansem found themselves thrown back by a blast of energy.

Everyone gasped as Sora stood up, slightly hunched over. Dark wisps seeping from his skin. His voice seemed deeper, warped. " _ **Xehanort! How dare you! You hurt my friends. You hurt my family. Now, you would hurt your own family! I won't let you!**_ "

With a scream, darkness engulfed his entire being, seeping into him until his entire form turned black. Only his eyes showed, eyes glowing a pure, sinister gold. He leapt towards Xehanort, raking his claws across the man's face, again and again.

Xemnas and Ansem charged the boy, only for Sora to turn on them, slashing at thier faces as darkness pulsed from him. He roared, unceasing his attack.

"Sora!" Kairi pulled herself to her feet. "Sora, stop! Stop it!"

"Why stop?" Xehanort smirked, drawing the boy's attention back to him. "You've done exactly what you needed to. Look at the faces of your friends, your neighbors, your family."

Sora, still coated in a deep darkness, turned back to those on the beach.

His friends, Kairi, Riku, Donald, Goofy… They stared at him, their faces wide-eyed, filled with fear.

His neighbors, the friends he'd been in school with, the people who'd known him since he was a baby, they stared at him in shock, and utter terror.

His parents. His mother and father, they also looked afraid.

They were all afraid.

Afraid of him.

" _ **I-I…**_ " Sora clutched his head, screeching as the darkness melted off.

Xehanort watched the boy scream. His old eyes glanced up at Areth one last time before he, Xemnas, and Ansem vanished into the darkness.

Sora fell to his knees, looking up at the people gathered on the beach. All he saw was the fear in their faces. "I-I'm sorry…" He stood up and ran.

"Sora!"

"Sora! Wait!" The boy summoned his Keyblade, pointing it back at them. A flash of light blinded everyone. When it faded he was nowhere to be seen.

Kairi turned back to everyone else. "Come on, we need to find him."

"I don't know." All eyes turned to Baralai. "That… Sora… you saw what he did."

"He was like a monster…" Selphie shuddered slightly.

A mother looked at her child. "How do we know he won't hurt us?"

"Are you crazy!?" Levi forced himself to stand. "You know Sora! My son wouldn't hurt anyone here!"

"That THING wasn't Sora!"

Donald shook for a moment before shouting. "How dare you! All of you! Sora's your friend!"

"He's been through more in the last few years than any of you have been through in a lifetime!" Roxas yelled. "He's doing everything to help you! To help everyone!"

Jiminy leapt onto Lea's shoulder, his small figure projecting his voice far louder than anyone could have thought. "Sora feels responsible for everything that has happened! You're giving Xehanort exactly what he wants! He's done everything he can to break Sora and that includes making all of you fear him!"

"Come on," Riku turned away from his people, "let's find Sora. With or without them."

Their group walked away, Lea glancing back for a moment, smiling as he saw Isaac, Talitha, Asher, Artemis, Areth, Owari, Marion, and even Levi following behind to help. Eraqus cast a spell on their feet so that the hot rock and ash didn't melt their shoes or burn their feet.

"I know where to go." Levi spoke up, leaning on Isaac. "Riku, Kairi, Marion, Isaac, come with me."

"Alright."

"Wait," Lea grabbed Kairi's arm and handed her Dawn's Might, "he never took this back. He might need it."

"Thank you."

* * *

Sora kicked off the melted pieces of his shoes. That was stupid of him.

His feet hurt, and the water did nothing. Not only was the water teaming with ash, but the salt stung the burns. He could've cast Cure, but that stupid shield spell they had to cast to save everyone from the volcano drained him of all his magic.

Thankfully, the cove was protected enough that only a little ash found its way inside. The ground was cool.

Now, all he could do was cry. The fearful faces of those he loved filled his thoughts. What had he done?

"I figured you'd be here." Levi stood in the cove entrance, with some of the others beside him.

Sora looked down, his tears beginning anew. A hand touched his shoulder as Kairi knelt beside him. "Sora, are you alright?" She looked at his feet. "Well, at least you have another pair of shoes on the ship. Donald put the ship into orbit before the volcano went off, so we can get you a new pair." Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a potion. "Here you go." Sora didn't move. "Sora, if you don't drink the potion, I will make you."

Slowly, the boy took the potion, downing it quickly. "Thanks. But, why did you come after me?"

"Why? You dork, you're our friend." Riku huffed.

"I caused all of this, and then I let that monster get to me… everyone is scared of me. You were scared of me."

"Of you?" Marion shook her head. "Son, we were scared for you."

"For me?"

Kairi leaned her forehead to his. "Of course. You were angry and Xehanort has been working all this time to hurt you. You're always the one to cheer us up when we start hurting, but you never let us do the same for you. Let us help you." She laid Dawn's Might in his lap. "I know you made a promise to my dad, to protect me, but that also means I have to protect you. We work together."

Isaac seemed confused until Riku mouthed 'biological father'. "Sora, we know you, and the people here do too. Don't hold this against them. They're afraid… not of you. They lost everything too. They are stressed, and they will realize their mistake. You are not to blame for any of this."

"But…"

Kairi put a finger to his lips. "I don't want to hear another negative word come out of your mouth. Everything was Xehanort's doing, not yours."

Sora smiled despite himself. "What are we going to do now?"

"We're staying at least for a few days." Riku smiled. "We have to help clean up a little bit. Then we'll go after Xehanort because he's not getting away with what he did here."

"No, he's not."

"But we need you." Kairi smiled. "And you need us." She leaned in, kissing Sora. Levi and Marion smiled, but Isaac frowned. "Come on, and if you start feeling down again, let us know. Let us help you."

Sora smiled, buckling Dawn's Might around his waist before kissing Kairi again. "Thank you…"

"I know this won't fix everything, but it's a start."

"It's a start."

"Let's get you some shoes." Marion laughed, kissing Sora's forehead as Isaac stepped between Sora and Kairi. "Seriously?"

The mayor huffed. "She's my daughter and I didn't approve any kissing!"

"Then I guess you won't want to hear how they're practically engaged." Riku laughed.

"ENGAGED!?"

"Sora, you better run!"

Sora and Kairi grabbed hands and immediately warped up to the gummi ship with Isaac staring up at the sky after them. "Don't think we're finished with this conversation!"

"Oh Levi," Marion giggled, "we're going to have to start preparing. Talitha and I can help Kairi pick out a dress when the shops are all rebuilt, you can help Sora find a suit."

"Stop talking about this!"

The three couldn't help but laugh as Isaac fumed.

* * *

"Another one?" Sasuke knelt over a shriveled corpse, this time of a young woman. "What could be doing this?"

"I've never heard of bodies getting sucked dry of blood before."

"Me neither."

Sasuke straightened up. "Well, no one sleeps until we find that thing!"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

 **Well, that's the end of the arc!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed it.**

 **Stay tuned for a preview of the new story I'll post tomorrow!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) The final boss from BBS 0.2.

(2) Harry Dalton is the name of the volcanologist in the movie that actually inspired this part with the volcano. The movie is called "Dante's Peak".

(3) A pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter that moves away from the volcano at speeds from 100 km/h to 700 km/h. The gas temperature can reach up to 1000 degrees C., this and the high speeds can incinerate living organisms instantaneously.

* * *

 **Finish**

I know it's the new year, but I did say I would post the Christmas story, so here's the rest!

Luke 2:1-20

" _In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,[b] who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn._

 _And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,  
_ " _Glory to God in the highest,  
_ _and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"[d]  
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them._"

* * *

 **PREVIEW**

Code X.

That is where it all began.

Code X. It meant a child had been born with a malformed heart and needed an immediate transplant.

On the morning of July 13th, during a small typhoon, the call of Code X rang out through the Destiny Hospital.

Undine Himitsu clutched the screaming infant in her arms as the doctors searched for a new heart for her newborn son.

Quietly, she recited some of the best poems she'd written, hoping to calm the pained infant.

Still, no heart. Then, Code X worked its magic. A doctor whisked away the infant to surgery.

Undine waited, her creative mind mulling over wolds in her mind. Hours later, the doctors came back. Her son would live.

Soon, she held him once more in her arms.

"I say we name him after my father."

"No, Cathel," Undine brushed back the silver hair on her son's head, "I have the perfect name."

Cathel's eyes narrowed. Certainly, he trusted his wife, but she was flighty in thought. "Oh, what is it?"

"I want to name him after today and the circumstances that saved his life. Code X. For so long today, they had no heart for him, and now he has the heart of another. No heart. Another."

Her eyes met the confused expression of her husband.

"Xehanort"

 **Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you:**

" **How Did It Come To This"**

 **The story of Xehanort.**


	48. Chapter 48: Calming the Storm

**Hi guys!**

 **I'm back!**

 **I took a 21-day break from KH entirely. But I am back.**

 **I originally planned to jump to the next world, but I decided to address some other things. This is kinda a break in the "Invasion" series and it will address some things from the last chapter.**

 **And guys KINGDOM HEARTS 3 IS HERE!  
If you want to freak out with me, PM me!**

 **Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Sasuke** **© to Yamichaos27!**

 **Other OCs** **© to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 48: Calming the Storm**

* * *

"On three! One. Two. Three!"

Terra, Riku, and some of the other islanders shoved a giant rock out of the way. Their feet slipped in the ash on the ground. The humidity soaked the ash, making it slick and very disgusting if you fell into it. Which Ven had already done at least four times.

Many people asked about getting rid of the ash, and people found ways to move all the ash around off the roads. The Keybearers worked to break up the hardened lava that covered the roads.

As they worked, Mickey went back to the gummi ship, silently taking off into the darkness of space.

Kairi and Lea went up with Harry Dalton and the other volcanologists(1) and checked out the crater of the volcano. Inside, they saw the shape of a bird, though not or rock or standing. Black soot stained the rocks in the shape of a bird with spread wings(2).

The Firebird Heartless was dead.

* * *

Sora picked up some rubble and moved it away. He acted as if he didn't notice the looks most of the islanders gave him. Looks of confusion, caution, and fear. Kids he used to play with avoided him after his dark display.

He tried to hide his sadness and hurt every time they avoided him or gave him fearful glances. But his heart ached. His conversation with Kairi helped somewhat, but his heart broke at all the fear and the hurt.

"Sora," Wakka walked over, the older boy smiling, but his eyes still held an air of caution, "take a break."

The boy nodded and headed over to a tree and sat down. Roxas and Xion sat nearby. Sora remembered the conversation between him and Roxas, or he remembered the punch Roxas threw. And he remembered how the conversation never really came to a close.

He stood up, walking to them. "Hey, you two mind coming with me? I want to talk to you both."

Roxas and Xion looked at one another before standing up and following Sora. Roxas had a feeling that this was about their conversation before.

And he was right.

They entered the private cove and Sora turned around. "Look, we never really finished our conversation before. I just wanted to say that I'm sorr-."

Roxas punched Sora. "I told you if you apologized again I would punch you." He reached down and helped Sora up, only for Sora to punch him back. "Hey!?"

"Will you let me talk, Roxas!?" Sora straightened up, tense. "Look, I know you don't blame me for what happened, but that doesn't change the fact that I had a hand in what happened to you."

"Oh, shut up!" Roxas jumped up, punching Sora back. "We don't blame you!"

"That doesn't change how I feel!"

Xion stepped back, watching as the two boys launched into a full fist fight, continuing to speak even as they punched one another. "Sora, you can be so hard-headed!"

"You can't deny that without me none of this would've happened! You wouldn't have suffered, Xion wouldn't have suffered!"

"We wouldn't exist without you!"

"That doesn't change the fact that it hurts! It hurts to think about how I caused the suffering of both of you. Please… just forgive me…"

Roxas stopped, stepping back. Xion touched his arm and smiled sadly at Sora. "You're right. You did have a hand in what happened to us, but you didn't know and you didn't do it willingly. We don't blame you, but for what you did, willingly or not, I forgive you."

"As do I."

Sora's shoulders sagged as if a weight came up off of him. "Thank you." He smiled, chuckling slightly. "And sorry about that…"

He pointed at Roxas' face. The boy touched his mouth, feeling the blood rolling down his split lip. He laughed as well. "And sorry about the black eye."

Xion shook her head with a smile. "Boys…"

The three laughed and walked back to the town. Marion looked up, immediately stopping them. "What happened to you two!?" Everyone around stared at the two bruised boys.

"Well…"

"We uh…."

"They got in a fight," Xion smirked.

Goofy looked between the boys. "With each other?"

"Yep. They had some issues to work out, so they punched it out."

Kairi handed both of them a potion. They drank it and their wounds disappeared. She smiled and handed them two shovels. "If you have that much energy, you can put it into clearing the roads of ash."

"Seriously!?"

"Seriously."

* * *

Xehanort stood on the balcony of the World that Never Was, staring into the darkness. In his mind, he could see Areth and Owari. The young man looked so much like Venus, and Owari… she had inherited his own silver hair, a trait of the Himitsu family.

Blast his heart! He almost wished…

He almost wished he hadn't done this.

His darkness drove away Venus and cost him his son.

No.

Time for those thoughts had passed.

He had come too far to give in now. Perhaps he could bring his son and granddaughter to his new world. Perhaps he could make up for the past then.

Perhaps.

* * *

The gummi ship landed in the middle of town; the townspeople gathered around as Mickey stepped out. But he was not alone.

Yen Sid and Maryushaka stepped onto the ashy ground. The wizard's face was solemn, his eyes taking in all the destruction of this beautiful world.

"Kaschei's Heartless did this." Mary's face scrunched up as if she might cry. "Yen, we have to do something!"

The old man smiled, laying his hand on her shoulder. "That is why we are here."

"What's going on?"

Mickey turned to Riku and smiled. "I thought they might be able to help the islands."

Isaac approached the two strangers cautiously, he figured that they were friendly as they came with King Mickey, but after everything, he had a right to be cautious. "Hello, I'm the mayor, Isaac Mizu. Who are you?"

"I am the wizard, Yen Sid, and this is my student Maryushaka. We have come here to help. The Heartless that caused your volcano to erupt is one we know and I want to help."

Isaac smiled. "Thank you. We really don't need help with building, and actually, I think it would be best if we rebuilt things ourselves. We are used to that and we can work together to rebuild, but the ash and rocks…"

"We will help you."

Yen Sid took Mary's hand, whispering instructions to his student. The old man's hand began to glow with a soft green light. Mary's hand glowed a soft red with small hints of green. The magic seeped into the ground. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the green light began to shoot up through the ground, running along, spreading like roots. A moment later, the ash seemed to seep into the ground; the boulders, lava bombs, and hardened lava crumbled to dust, settling amongst the dirt. A wave of green shot across the dirt as grass sprouted up in all directions.

Trees, burned to the ground, suddenly shot up, regrowing to their original state.

Everyone gaped, their spirits lifting instantly as the destruction seemed to vanish.

As this magic restored the natural order of their world, Yen Sid turned, holding up his hand. All the broken down houses and buildings began to glow. The rubble flashed and turned into neat piles of material for rebuilding. "If you insist on rebuilding yourselves, I will make that task easier for you."

Mary turned towards the school. Her magic swirled in red(3) clouds. Small piles of food and potions appeared.

Isaac turned to the sorcerers as the other islanders ran to the supplies in joy. "Thank you so much!"

"You are most welcome." The old man watched the people joyfully look at their new resources and begin to work already. His eyes flashed with shock as Eraqus approached. "Eraqus?"

"Hello, Master Yen Sid. It is good to see you."

"It is good to see you as well. I was informed that you were one of Xehanort's vessels, but I am glad that both you and Terra seem to be well." His gaze rested on the young man for a moment. "Mickey told me some of what happened here. I know Xehanort attacked this place. Tell me, what exactly happened."

Sora lowered his gaze and spoke softly. "He drove everyone into the school. He kidnapped Riku's, Kairi's, and my parents; Xemnas injured my dad. Xehanort used our parents as hostages to get me and Kairi. He managed to make me into a vessel for a short time, but Kairi saved me. Then he used the Firebird Heartless to set off the volcano. We stopped it and then he tried to take two of our friends… I-I lost my temper and I kinda let darkness in. Now…"

"Sora." Kairi took his hand. "They're not af-."

"They are! Kairi, I've been watching them all day! People are avoiding me! People I have known since I was a child are afraid of me!"

Yen Sid looked at the boy. Ever since he'd met Sora, he only known the boy as a bright and smiling child with such a strong heart, stronger than almost any he'd ever seen before.

But now.

He looked so broken, shattered by the recent events. It was not a look he had ever worn before, and it did not suit him.

"I'm going to get back to work…" Sora walked away, his shoulders still slumped down.

Goofy frowned. "Poor Sora…"

"I don't know what to do anymore." Kairi rubbed her arms.

Yen Sid's eyes followed Sora. "I do not think we can do much for him. He depends much on his friends, but now he must do this alone."

* * *

Sora sat alone on the beach, his back against the tree that used to stand in front of his house. Everyone else was eating further in town, but he just couldn't. He couldn't stand to be around them.

They probably didn't want him around either.

"Hey…" He looked up and saw a little brunette girl in a brown dress. Azami Shibunuri(4).

"You're not scared of me?"

Azami smiled, looking at the older boy. "Why?"

"I…"

"Oh, you mean when you went all angry and covered in black smoke?" Sora nodded. "Oh, Daddy says that you were just mad." She sat down. "That old man was mean… did he make those monsters come here?"

"He did."

"Daddy says you got mad at him because he did all those mean things."

Sora sighed. "Yeah. And now people are scared of me."

"But," the little girl cocked her head, "you were trying to help. You didn't want him to hurt people. You just got mad. Daddy says that getting mad isn't bad, and he was bad."

"Azami!" An older boy with brown hair glared at Sora.

Sora forced a smile. "Hey, Isse."

"Azami, keep away from him. He might hurt you."

Sora's smile faded as the boy grabbed his sister's and tried to pull her away. "Stop it, Isse! Sora didn't do anything! You're mean!" Isse ignored his sister's cries as he pulled her away from Sora.

"I thought we were friends, Isse." Sora stood up, eyes narrowed at the boy who was the same age as Riku.

"And I thought you were a good person, but then you freaked out and tried to kill that guy."

"Even though that guy was the man who attacked our home and tried to kill my parents!?" He stormed over, grabbing the collar of the boy. "I have been fighting him for months! I am tired of fighting! But I have to stop him! I'm sorry that I lost my temper!" He pulled away. "I'm sorry…"

He stormed away, down the beach before his legs finally just gave out and he fell to his knees, slamming his fists on the ground. "I can't… I can't do this. I just wanted to help. I just want this to be over." He closed his eyes.

He lay there, somewhat drifting off into sleep, as the glowing figure of the woman in white stood over him. She knelt down, laying her hand on his back. " _Poor thing, but it is time to grow up. Relying on friends is wonderful, and it is your strength, but you need to learn to stand on your own._ "

* * *

Sora found himself standing in the dark on the stained glass platform of his own heart. He'd seen it before, but it had changed. The image of himself stood in the center, holding his arms out. Around him were the faces of his friends.

"Look at what you've done." Sora turned and saw Young Xehanort smirking across the platform at him. "You destroyed your home. Your friends see you as a monster."

"Shut up!"

The man's golden eyes flashed with mirth. "How funny. You fight against the darkness, but it has taken hold. You cannot stop it."

"Leave me ALONE!"

* * *

Sora curled up on the ground, shuddering as darkness began to drip off of him like rain. It pooled beneath him before taking shape and rising up. A form of himself. A form of Sora, made of darkness(5).

The Shadow Sora slunk off, slipping through the bushes. Darkness slipped off of him. Each pool left behind began to writhe as Novashadows(6) began pulling themselves out of the pools, sliding along behind Shadow Sora.

* * *

Sora fell down on his heart's mosaic as Young Xehanort laughed before charging the fallen boy. Sora's eyes snapped open. He sat up, allowing sweat to pour down his face. He sat back, shifting uncomfortably as Dawn's Might fell underneath him, putting off his sitting position.

He pulled the katana up, setting the sword in his lap. His hand brushed the hilt and he felt something beside the cloth around the hilt.

Paper.

The boy looked and saw the letter Kaname had Kairi give him, tied to the hilt. Kairi must have put it there for him. She said it was for him when he was feeling low. Well, he felt like dirt right now, so now worked…

Pulling off the letter, he opened it up and began to read:

 _Sora,_

 _I was happy to get to meet you, and I am happy to trust you with my daughter. But, I know that you will go through trouble. I found that sometimes, everyone needs a little help and advice._

 _When I watched you, I could see some of myself in you. That's not entirely a good thing. I could see that you were angry, and I can't fault you for that due to what you've been through and what Xehanort's done. Anger isn't a bad thing, but I wanted to do what I can to make sure it goes no further._

 _Xehanort has done horrible things and hurt innocent people, and it angers me too. But I wanted to help before that anger becomes hatred._

 _Hatred is a sickness that rots you from the inside. It makes you hurt. It destroys you and makes you hate not only your enemy but yourself as well._

 _I know this all too well. My father was a horrible man and did horrible things to me and to my mother. I hated him. Then my master taught me a lesson that I will never forget, and I want to teach it to you._

 _Forgiveness._

 _I know, it sounds strange, but it is essential. Every heart has darkness within it, fighting against the light. Hatred and holding onto anger feeds the darkness. Forgiveness is light. If you allow anger and hatred to fester within you, you will lose your heart to darkness. So, no matter how hard it is, you must forgive those who wronged you._

 _And what is even harder than that, is to forgive yourself. When you become angry, hurt someone, do something wrong, you might blame yourself. That self-hatred is just as bad, actually, it's even worse. You must forgive yourself._

 _I hope these words come to you in your time of need and help. I should've told you this in person, but I hope this letter, and your own heart help you realize this._

 _I trust you will do well, despite your trials._

 _-Kaname_

…

Sora read over the letter again. Forgive? Forgive Xehanort? How could he!? Xehanort was a monster! He deserved death! He deserved worse than dea-.

Oh.

Sora's hand touched his heart, shaking. Was that him? Did he really feel that strong a hatred towards the old man? The cold grip of anger touched his heart. Kaname was right. Darkness, hatred was eating him from the inside.

He closed his eyes, once more finding himself on his heart's mosaic, looking across at Xehanort, all forms of him.

He was suddenly aware of how fragile his heart really was, how much darkness was in him, fighting with the light within. He did not like Xehanort. He would never like Xehanort, but he knew. He knew what he needed to do to save his own heart(7).

"I forgive you…"

* * *

Kairi stood near Sora's old home, looking for him. He'd run off. Isse said he'd seen him but he'd gone again.

"Where are you?"

Screams erupted in town. The princess turned back, running in as she saw Novashadows pop up across the town, leaping out of tendrils of darkness that spread from… Sora.

Shadow Sora sat, hunched on the fountain in the center of town, oozing darkness across the remains of the city.

"Sora!?" She ran at him. "Sora! Stop!"

The shadow turned on her with unfeeling eyes.

"Wait…" she sensed nothing. Not light. Just darkness. This wasn't Sora. The others ran into the town, gaping at the sight of Shadow Sora. Kairi summoned her Keyblade. "That's not Sora! It just looks like him!"

Shadow Sora fixed them with its glowing eyes before lunging their direction. Kairi blocked it as the others became swarmed with Novashadows.

She saw a barrier surround their group to protect the rest of the town from the swarming Heartless, no doubt the work of Master Yen Sid.

Then her eyes locked with Shadow Sora's. She saw nothing but darkness in it.

* * *

Sora heard the screams and began running back to town. No matter what they thought of him, he wasn't going to let his home be attacked again.

Not again.

He saw Mary and Yen Sid attacking Novashadows with magic. The old wizard saw Sora, take a moment to stare at the boy before he waved his hand. A barrier, containing most of the Novashadows, split open for the boy to run inside. Most of the citizens of the islands stood on the outside of the barrier, watching.

Sora ignored the looks they gave him as he slashed through the Novashadows. As he ran towards the center of town, he saw Kairi facing… him. Or the shadow version of him.

"Kairi!" He leapt up beside her, blocking an attack from the shadow version of himself. "You alright?"

"Yeah… What about you?"

"I'm alright." He turned on the shadow version of himself. "I can handle this, Kai." He dismissed his Keyblade and stepped before Shadow Sora. Suddenly, every Novashadow froze in place as the two stared at one another.

The Novashadows slithered into the ground, merging back into Shadow Sora. Everyone turned to the two soras. Sora immediately stepped towards his shadowy counterpart, watching the dark monster twitch slightly.

He spoke softly, allowing only Shadow Sora to really hear him. "I know what you are. You're me. You're all the anger and hatred I felt, towards myself and to what I've done. I know… and I forgive you."

Shadow Sora twitched as those last three words before crumbling to dust and blowing away in the wind.

"Sora?"

The boy turned to his friends, who all looked towards him in confusion, and smiled. "Hi, guys!"

"Sora!" Kairi hugged him. "What did you do?"

"I just well… I figured some stuff out. And, thanks for the letter. It was just what I needed." He kissed her forehead.

The shield fell and the people all came towards them. Marion and Levi immediately hugged their son, who truly smiled for the first time in days. "You did great, kiddo!"

"Dad, your legs?"

"Master Yen Sid healed them." Levi ruffled his son's hair. "So, don't you worry about me."

Isaac gave the boy a thumbs up. "I don't know what you did, but good job getting rid of that thing."

"Thank you."

Sora looked around and, for the first time today, didn't see expressions of fear. And it made his heart swell. He was home again.

* * *

"Are you sure?"

"Of course!" Mary smiled. "I would be happy to watch over the islands until Xehanort is finished. I may not be that strong yet, but I can do my part."

Sora smiled. "Thank you, Mary."

Marion and Levi wrapped Sora in their arms, kissing his forehead. "Stay safe, kiddo."

"I will."

"You come home in one piece, you hear me." Artemis hugged Riku.

"I will, Mom."

Asher laid his hand on his wife's shoulder. "He'll be fine. He's our son after all."

Kairi hugged Isaac and Talitha; the couple holding back their emotions as they said their goodbyes. "Kairi, be careful."

"And don't let Sora…"

"Dad! I'll be fine! And don't worry about Sora. He'll take care of me."

Isaac let her go and walked over to Sora, turning the boy around before he hissed. "No funny business, you got me. I know her biological father practically gave you permission to marry her, but you have to go through me first!"

"D-don't worry, sir. I wasn't going to even ask her on a date without asking you first!"

"Good."

* * *

When everyone returned to the ship, Sora sat in the cockpit, staring out at the stars.

"You ok?" Donald and Goofy stepped up beside him.

"I'm actually doing great." Sora smiled at them as Jiminy jumped onto his shoulder. "Kairi gave me a letter from Kaname, and it helped. I had to realize how much darkness really was in my heart due to my hatred for Xehanort. I had to, let go. I had to forgive Xehanort and myself. Probably the hardest thing I've ever done…"

Jiminy smiled. "That was very mature of you, Sora. We're glad to have you back to your old self."

"Thanks."

The light on the dashboard lit up. Donald pressed it and Sasuke's face appeared. The captain looked drained, tired, and stressed. "Hey, can you guys get here quickly? We have a problem…"

* * *

 **That's it for the islands!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) A geologist that specializes in volcanos.

(2) Think like the angel death in "Supernatural" where there is the burnt in wing print on the ground.

(3) This is why she becomes known as the Vermillion Sorceress.

(4) She is from FF14 and first appeared in the Stormblood expansion, but I made her much younger here. She is the younger sister of Isse.

(5) Like the one you fight on Neverland in KH1.

(6) This is a Pureblood Heartless found in 358/2 Days. It is found in day 255 on Wonderland.

(7) This paragraph is an adaptation of a paragraph from the 51st chapter of "The Tale of Despereaux".

* * *

 **Forgiveness**

Forgiveness.

This is something that is so prominent in the Bible. God forgives us of our wrongs, and we are to forgive others, no matter what they do to us.

Ephesians 4:31-32 says, " _Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you._ " Regardless of who the person is, we are to forgive them, even if they have wronged us many times.

Jesus said, " _So watch yourself. 'If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying 'I repent,' you must forgive them.'_ "

It's not easy, but it is the right thing to do.


	49. Chapter 49: Invasion- Bloodlust

**Well, we are in the post KH3 era. And THAT GAME AHHHHHH!**

 **Where's KH4?! And, there will be some minor references/spoilers in this chapter. If you don't want to see anything, then wait until you've finished the game. But the references aren't that bad.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Sasuke © to Yamichaos27!**

 **Other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 49: Invasion- Bloodlust**

* * *

"Sounds like the Monuca Heartless is running around."

"Great…"

Kairi sighed. "I hate this. Xehanort is just trying to hurt people for no reason."

Sora nodded. He stepped away, leaving the rest to talk about the Heartless. The boy wasn't sad, but he did want to be alone. In the ship's training room, Sora pulled out Dawn's Might and Key to the Kingdom.

He thought back to the battle on Disney Town. He'd been trying to figure out the power he and the others used. After focusing on the weapons, he began attacking the training dummies. Nothing happened.

"Come on… work already." He slashed the swords across one another. "Come on…" he couldn't even remember the names of the magic he used.

He heard laughter from the doorway and saw Donald standing there. "Having trouble?"

Sora sheathed the katana, pouting. "Kinda. I'm trying to figure out that spell that I used to save Master Eraqus. It would've been useful on the islands."

"Hm," the duck sat down, "I don't know what magic we all used then. It was some of the strongest magic, and using it alone probably would've killed us."

Sora sat down. "Killed us?"

"Yep. Some spells are so powerful, that if you cast them yourself without help, you can die or at least fall into a coma. I can cast a few of those myself. I only do them when working with the king. The king can cast one of the ultimate spells: Ultima, but it drains him. I can cast multiple levels of flare, including Zettaflare(1), but I've never used it before. It's dangerous." He stood up and quickly ran out of the room, and when he returned, he had Eraqus, Aqua, and Mickey with him.

"Seriously, you brought everyone."

"Hey, I don't know the answer, maybe they do."

Mickey smirked as the two quarreled. "What is it, Sora?"

"I was wondering about the magic we used to save Master Eraqus. Donald said he didn't know what it was."

Mickey scratched his chin. "It wasn't any kind of magic I'd ever seen before."

"Me neither," Aqua admitted.

Eraqus closed his eyes, thinking deeply. "I remember that moment, a little. I remember light and feeling so much power hitting me, but it only affected the darkness within me, driving it out. But not all of it. No magic can destroy darkness, and nothing can. I learned the hardest way, but light and darkness must be in balance. One cannot exist without the other. If anything, the magic restored the balance."

"I've never heard of magic like that."

"I have, once." Eraqus looked around at everyone. "My master had me study everything he could on the Keyblade and on magic. I remember a type of magic called Ethereal Magic. It was only a myth, so I don't know much about it, but a strong magic that you can't cast alone that is light based could be Ethereal."

"Ethereal…"

"I'll contact Master Yen Sid and ask him."

"Thanks, your majesty."

* * *

Ansem the Wise looked up as Sora and the others came into the study. He noticed Terra and Eraqus among the group. "I am glad you're here. We are in the middle of a crisis."

"And we know what's causing it." Lea spoke up. "Xehanort is invading three worlds with giant Heartless. He invaded Disney Town and the Destiny Islands. The Heartless here is the Monuca Heartless."

Sasuke walked over from where he leaned against the wall. "Really? A Heartless wouldn't suck a person's blood and leave the body."

"The Heartless' original form was a vampire. That's why it does that."

Ansem scratched his chin. "People have been vanishing. I assume the Heartless has been taking their hearts. For every six people that vanish, we find one body. We've searched all over town. Every time we do, some of our searchers vanish too. From different places at the same time."

"That's not creepy…"

"Where have people vanished from?" Terra spoke up, his voice soft. He averted his eyes as Ansem looked his way.

The king paused for a moment, looking at the young man before he spoke, his voice also soft. "Some in town, some in the old Insurgo headquarters, the Cavern of Remembrance, and the Villains Vale. And, you must be Terra. It is good to see you as yourself."

Terra smiled shyly. "Thank you, and I'm sorry for what I did, or what Xehanort did by using me."

"Think nothing of it. You are forgiven and you are welcome here."

Mickey smiled. "We should probably split up and check all those locations." Everyone nodded.

* * *

"Where are you going, Riku?"

Riku sighed. "I just want to make sure that a friend of mine is safe." He moved across town, watching around every corner for the Heartless until he came to the cafe he always visited. No one else decorated the streets. All was quiet, so quiet

Mickey looked at the building and smiled. "Oh yeah, I remember this place."

Almost immediately, the door opened and Hara stepped out.

"Hara?"

"Wait, Riku?" She turned around, taking off the dirty apron she wore. "How are you?"

Riku gave her a smile. "I'm alright. I heard people were going missing and some getting killed, so I wanted to make sure you were alright. And… isn't it a little early to close down shop?"

"Yeah, but with the town so empty, I'm low on business… Actually, I don't know how I'm going to pay rent this month, and that's if whatever is nabbing people doesn't nab me first."

"Come with me." Riku took her hand, pulling her down the street.

Hara blinked, but didn't pull away. "Where are we going?"

"Tifa's bar," he kept his eyes peeled for the Heartless, "you'll be safe there. I'll talk to Ansem about the rent thing, for you and other businesses in town."

"Thanks, Riku."

Mickey followed behind, smiling at the two. At the same time, he kept his eyes peeled. He paused, looking down an alleyway as he saw a woman. "Hold on. Miss! Go inside, it's not safe."

The figure turned toward them and lumbered towards them, hunched over. Riku narrowed his eyes before summoning his Keyblade. "Hara, get behind me."

The woman lumbered into sight. A thin figure, made of inky darkness with a white, ragged dress and long black hair hanging down. Under the glowing yellow eyes, a mouth opened, with two long fangs. A Heartless insignia decorated its forehead.

"A vampire Heartless!?" Hara huddled behind her friend.

"Excalibur(2)!" A sword of light appeared in the air, dropping on the Moroi(3) Heartless. The creature shrieked, backing away from the light as King Mickey leapt in, slashing the creature to pieces. "I think we found one of the missing people. The Heartless is probably killing some people and then turning some into Heartless. We better get Hara to the bar and then we need to warn people.

"Got it!"

* * *

"I hate these tunnels." Kairi shuddered. "I remember being imprisoned here."

Sora took her hand. She'd been the one to suggest going to the old Insurgo base, but she didn't like it.

"Don't worry, Kairi," Goofy smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder, "there are no Insurgos down here anymore."

The princess gave him a grateful smile as they walked along.

"Wak!" Donald, who walked ahead, paused, looking around the large open area where they'd fought last time. There were yellow vines hanging around the stone room covered in dark brown thorns that curved like an eagle's talons; in the center was a plant that looked like it had mouths, all with curved fangs(4), with the Heartless insignia inside each mouth.

The Strangleweed(5) Heartless turned its attention towards the door, drawn by the duck mage's cry. The yellow vines slithered across the floor, winding up everything as it felt around, looking for the source of the noise.

Sora grabbed his friend, dragging him behind the wall. "It's blind." He spoke quietly, making sure his voice could barely be heard.

The vines poked out the door, feeling around. They retracted after finding nothing. All of the warriors let out a long sigh.

Sora poked his head, again, out to look at the plant Heartless. How to beat it? He held out his Keyblade, casting a Firza spell. The flames licked at the plant, causing the vines to shudder, but it didn't do anything to the creature. Well, it did something.

It angered the Heartless.

The Strangleweed screeched, flailing vines all over the place. Sora leapt back as the vines shot out the door, reaching for the assailant. Donald glared, hissing between his beak. "Nice going…"

"Fire doesn't work against it." Sora hissed back.

Kairi looked around, wondering what they should do. A small pull caught her attention as Kyokan pulled at her boot. The Unversed turned the moment it grabbed her attention, pointing up with its nose toward the light.

"Light…" Kairi waited for the vines to pull away before she walked towards the entrance. She held out her Keyblade, focusing. "Holy!" The light magic beamed down, striking the roots. The light burned the vines, causing the Heartless to shriek. "Holy magic! That's the weakness!"

Sora grinned. "Good job, Kai!" He ran in beside her. "Faith!"

Goofy and Donald watched the two from the door as the two cast the light magic around the room, severing the roots of the monster. "They're doing a good job, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but I think Sora's just trying to impress Kairi." Donald snickered.

Sora and Kairi slashed at the vines, light coating their weapons as they cast Holy magic. "Ready, Kairi?"

"Yeah!"

One hand on their weapon, they grabbed hands, holding them in the air. "HOLY BREATH(6)!" A shimmering cloud of white dust glittered in the air, raining around the room in a soft pink cloud before a white glitter exploded around them.

The Strangleweed let out a long screech before vanishing, a heart floating away.

"We did it!" The couple high fived as their friends came into the room.

"Good job you two!"

"Thanks!"

* * *

"This reminds me of Castle Oblivion." Naminè looked around the white walls of the Cavern of Remembrance. They'd passed through the dark caves before reaching the white halls.

They were so lonely.

Just like Castle Oblivion.

Roxas looked around. "Yeah, guess Xemnas wanted to match that place. I wonder why they made this place."

"Got me."

"Huh?" Xion looked up at Lea. "I thought you would know."

"I don't know everything, Xi." He laughed. "Though, you kids did think I knew everything back in the Organization." His eyes softened. "If our plan had worked, I would've known so much more."

"Plan?"

Lea paused, leaning against the wall. "Isa and I had our own plans. I did the dirty work and go him up to the top. We knew Xemnas had an agenda that he wasn't telling us, so we tried to figure it out and take over the Organization ourselves. We now know what his plans were, to turn us into vessels. And Isa is gone now. I miss him."

"If you and he were friends, why was he so mean to us?"

"He was jealous…" Roxas whispered. "You were his friend, and then you spent time with us."

Lea laughed to himself. "Probably, but he'd probably deny it to his dying breath."

Naminè clasped her hands. "It's sad."

"Lea, do you think we could be friends with him one day?"

Huh? He wouldn't have expected Xion off all people to ask that. She really did take after both Kairi and Sora… "Yeah, I'm sure you can, Xion." His heart swelled as he saw the three smile. He would love for his old friend to make peace with his new ones.

Click.

Click.

They all paused as clicking began to echo across the white floor. They turned, seeing a number of small creatures that looked like large bugs with long pincers. They were black with an orange back, the Heartless insignia in the center of the back. The little legs of the Ixodes Heartless(7) clattered against the ground as they charged the Keybearers.

"Gross!" Xion summoned Seeker of the Stars and slashed at the giant ticks as they leapt at her.

Roxas looked around. "Form up!" They all stood together as the Ixodes Heartless surrounded them. "Lea, any ideas?"

"Again, I don't know everything!"

"Just hit them!"

Lea held up his Keyblade. "Fine… BURN BABY!" He slammed his Keyblade down, coating the ground in flames. The bugs really didn't like that. "Burn them!"

"Right!"

All of them held out their Keyblades and at one time, yelled, "BURN!" Flames ran across the floor, swallowing up the Heartless on all sides. When the flames died away, only charred black stains remained on the walls.

"That was effective."

"You bet it was!"

* * *

Eraqus walked up the winding staircases of the Villain's Vale, behind his three students. It did his heart good to see them all talking and laughing, even if they were searching this dark place for a monstrous enemy.

As they came up into an open room, Ven turned to him. "Master, I was wondering something."

"Yes, Ventus?"

"Why didn't you talk much about your training with Master Xehanort? I mean, I trained under him and we all knew him somewhat, but you never said anything. Not about him, Venus, or your master. Why?"

Eraqus smiled sadly. "I honestly did not wish to think on them myself. Seeing how Xehanort changed from the innocent friend I once knew…" He sighed. "But I suppose I could tell you some things."

They found nothing in the room, so they continued, but this time the young people stood behind their master, walking close to hear his every word. "Our master, Fuji Sato(8), once took me to the Destiny Islands. We met Xehanort there; he wasn't content with his life there and begged to come with us. Master Fuji accepted. I was around twelve at the time and Xehanort was fourteen."

"He just left the islands?"

"Yes. He never spoke about them either, unless he was talking about Venus. He loved her so much… One day, a few years later, he left for the islands for a few days. Master Fuji wanted him to try and make peace with his home and family before the Mark of Mastery exam." The man's tired eyes looked up. "I can only assume that this was when his own Heartless approached him and we get the younger Xehanort we see now. But, when Xehanort returned, he'd come with Venus, having eloped with her the night before."

Terra cocked his head slightly. "While we're on this topic, I've never heard you talk about your life before you became a Keyblade wielder either."

Eraqus chuckled lightly. "I'm aware." He paused in his steps, staring down at his hand. "I have not been back home in quite some time. Perhaps, when this is over, I will take you all there."

"We'd love that, Master Eraqus."

Ven suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up just before something sharp dug into his shoulders, ripping him from the ground.

"Ven!"

A screech filled the air. A large bat with white and black wings dangled from the ceiling by one claw with the other one digging into Ven's shoulders.

The Diaemus Heartless(9) glowered down at the wielders, tightened its grip on the boy in its talons.

Ven pointed his Keyblade up. "Faith!" A beam of light shot down, hitting the Heartless. The monster dropped Ven.

"You alright?" Aqua cast Cure as she pulled him to her.

"That's not the Monacu, but we need to get rid of it!" Eraqus jumped back. "Move to a more open room!" They moved down the stairs back to the open room with the thing crawling along the ceiling after them.

The giant bat hung from the ceiling. Its fangs glistened as it flapped its wings, sending waves of darkness towards them.

"Look out!"

Aqua tried to cast Fire but the spell had no effect. "Huh…"

"Aqua," Eraqus held up his Keyblade, "Ven's Faith spell worked. Try Holy magic."

"Yes, Master! Saintly Beam(10)!" Aqua held up her blade, sparking a circle of light beams that surrounded her and shot towards the Heartless.

A batwing swung down, aiming for Ven. Terra immediately jumped in the way, blocking the attack. "Since I can't use that magic, I'll back you up!" He blocked any attack that came towards them as his friends and master.

Eraqus dodged the swipe from the Diaemus Heartless. "Terra, Aqua, Ven! Stand with me and lend me your ability!" The three jumped to his side as their master held up his own blade. "Rainbow Wind(11)." A halo of rainbows enveloped the Heartless, coating it in a myriad light before the Heartless vanished into a cloud of darkness.

"We did it!"

Eraqus let out a long breath. "That we did. But it doesn't look like the Monuca is here. Let's get back to town before dark."

"I agree."

* * *

Everyone retreated back to the castle as night fell.

Out of the shadows came their target.

The Monuca slithered between the buildings, glancing into the windows as it passed by. It paused at windows where it could see the people within.

It knew that everyone, including its pursuers, was asleep. It moved to the middle of town and stomped its paw on the ground. A spread of darkness shot out in all directions, and from it, dark forms began to rise up and lumber into the city.

* * *

 **I honestly didn't know where to go with this chapter lol.**

 **Post KH3 syndrome I guess.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) SPOILER! This is the spell Donald casts in KH3 that makes him collapse. There is no spell like that in FF, but Flare is a spell and there are multiple levels of that spell.

(2) Excalibur is a holy-elemental spell usually used by Gilgamesh.

(3) Moroi is a vampire in Romanian lore.

(4) These would look like a venus fly trap.

(5) Strangleweed is a vine that sucks out the sugars and nutrients of a plant, like a plant vampire.

(6) Holy Breath is an attack first seen in FF5 and it is usually used by dragons and dragoons.

(7) The name is from the Ixodes Scapularis, better known as the Blacklegged/Deer Tick. And ticks are bugs that suck blood.

(8) Fuji Sato is based on a character from a Japanese fairytale. I'll go into his backstory more in the Xehanort story.

(9) Diaemus is part of the scientific name for the white-winged vampire bat.

(10) This is an enemy attack from FF6.

(11) Rainbow Wind is an enemy attack seen first in FF9.

* * *

 **Perfect**

None of us came from the same place, or the same situation. Some of us came from good homes, some of us not.

Some of us live in a nice situation and some of us don't.

Sometimes, when the opportunity to meet Jesus we say "I'm not good enough", "I'm not in a good place right now", "I didn't come from a good home". Sometimes we feel disqualified because of where we came from or for how our lives are now.

Sometimes we say, "I want to go to church, but I can't until I get my life right".

Let me tell you, that's not the point. That's what church and Jesus is for. He doesn't care where you've come from or what your life is like.

People sometimes think that you have to be perfect to go to church, but church is for the imperfect. It is a place where you come to meet the perfect one and let Him change you. No one is perfect but God alone.

You don't have to be perfect, your situation doesn't have to be perfect. All you have to do is come.

That's all.


	50. Chapter 50: Invasion- Night Hunt

**I will say, I didn't know what to do with this chapter, but the game itself inspired me, but still, this chapter is short as I was kinda at a loss as to what to do.**

 **The chapter will probably be short as this is the last of the invasion arc.**

 **But trust me, the craziness is just getting started!**

 **Ok, well a lot of people have been following/favoriting this fic lately, like a LOT of people… thank you so much all of you!**

 **I also want to add that the first version of this story ended on chapter 50, and we're not even done yet!**

 **Enjoy this chapter!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

* * *

 **Chapter 50: Invasion- Night Hunt**

* * *

The furry lithe body slipped between the buildings, yellow eyes peering through every window. What victim should it send its monsters after?

Hm?

Something slipped by, the Heartless just noticing it in the corner of its eyes. Just as it turned, a metal weapon struck the side of its face.

The Monuca screeched, turning toward the assailant. It saw a lanky figure standing far at the end of the road before it turned and ran. The monster charged after the attacker. Hurrying after the person, it rounded corner after corner, but the person was just gone.

Suddenly, a Waterza spell slammed into the Monuca. It turned towards the attack to see a thin, small figure far down the road. Charging after it, the Heartless screeched again, but once more it couldn't find the figure.

Standing far above, on a castle balcony, Young Xehanort watched its relentless pursuit. "Let them find it… let them wear themselves out, that way, we can steal their heart."

A spear jabbed into the Monuca's tail. It turned, chasing after a different figure through the streets until they vanished again.

A round metal object slammed into the monster as it entered the fountain court. A figure stood in the darkness atop the fountain before it ran through a door. The Monuca splashed through the water, leaping up to the door, only to be struck in the face with a spiked object by a new figure at the end of the metal tunnel.

Again, it chased the person down, eventually finding itself in the aqueducts.

By this point, the Heartless was angry… It was confused and tired of this charade.

When another attack struck its flank, its eyes flashed as it leapt up to the aqueducts, chasing the lone figure down the waterway and into the reactor. The figure waited in the middle of the reactor.

The Heartless zeroed in on the figure, lunging forward, mouth open and fangs bared to suck the attacker dry.

* * *

An hour before sundown:

Everyone came into the study where Ansem the Wise awaited them. They had to make it appear like they were turning in for the night, and they only had an hour to get everything ready.

"Sasuke, are the reinforcements on their way?"

"Yes, sir."

Sora took a deep breath as the doors to the room opened. Cloud, Cid, and Merlin came inside followed by Leon who was pushing a man in a wheelchair in front of him. The man wore what appeared like a guard uniform, and a crossbow sat on his knees.

Cid pulled a spear off his back with a grin. "The girls are on their way. So, what's the plan?"

"First thing," Ansem looked at the older man in the wheelchair, "Hayato, are you certain that you're up to this?"

The man's green eyes flashed with excitement. "My lord, I've been on the sidelines for too long."

Sasuke smiled. "Everyone, this is Hayato Fletcher(1). He was an old friend of my father. He trained Braig and is a sniper."

"Thank you for the help."

Ansem sighed. "We need to hunt down this creature and use every resource available. Hayato should have some silver arrows, and we now know that Holy elemental magic works against it and its creatures. We assume that most weaknesses of vampires are its weakness too."

"We thought the same." Tifa came inside with Yuffie and Aerith. All three of them carried some baskets full of small pouches. "Thankfully our friend came up with an idea."

"Sure did!" Hara stepped inside with a pot and a tray of cups.

"Hara!?" Riku blinked.

The cafe owner smirked. "I heard vampires hate garlic, so I made garlic bombs, and coffee so you can stay awake."

"Nice, Hara!" Sora took one of the pouches.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Alright. The plan is simple. We need to lure the Monuca away from people. We'll lure it to the reactor area. At night, no workers should be around. Those of us who can use Holy elemental magic will be waiting at the reactor; Hayato will be there as well at a sniping post. The people, like myself, who can't use Holy elemental magic will attack the Monuca and lead it to the reactor. So, who can't use that magic?"

Lea, Riku, Xion, Cid, Yuffie, Goofy, and Terra all raised their hands.

"You'll help me get it to the reactor then. Grabs some of those garlic bombs." He looked around. "We have thirty minutes before sundown. The rest of you, get to the reactor."

Hara poured everyone coffee as they left. The last one to come by was Riku. He smiled as he took a handful of garlic bombs and then a coffee. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem. I can't fight, but I figured it was the least I could do for you taking the time to help me out."

Riku nodded and headed out, only to find Lea and Sora waiting for him, smirks decorating their faces. "Not a word you two."

"Seriously, if you don't ask her out, I'll tell her to ask you."

"I'm not looking for a romantic relationship. She and I are friends."

Sora laughed. "Keep telling yourself that, Riku."

"Just shut up and get to your positions."

Roxas chuckled, looking back at Riku. "I've only had a heart for a short time, but even I can tell that she's into you."

"Just shut up!"

* * *

After the sunset, Lea waited until he saw the white fur of the Monuca. Summoning his old chakram, he threw it, striking the monster. It turned its attention on him, and Lea took off running. Taking a corner, he slipped into a door left open.

He could hear the Heartless scurrying around outside.

Now it was up to Xion.

Xion cast a Waterza spell, catching the attention of the monster before she too ran. She hid and passed the job to Cid. From Cid to Goofy. From Goofy to Yuffie. From Yuffie to Terra. And from Terra to Riku.

Riku led the Heartless down from the aqueducts to the reactor where the ambush waited. He stood in the middle of the reactor area waiting for the Monuca.

The Heartless slipped into the open, bearing down on the young man who waited. As soon as it drew close, Riku pulled out a garlic bomb and smashed it into the open mouth of the Heartless.

The Monuca sputtered, screeching in annoyance. Riku took off toward the wall, leaping over the railing as multiple voices cried out. "FAITH!"

Light beamed down on the Heartless, burning it. Steam rose up from the white fur as the monster glanced around, looking for its many assailants.

Above where the monster entered, Riku climbed up. Hayato sat up, still in his wheelchair. "Got a good shot?"

"Not quite yet." The old guard looked down the sights of his crossbow. "Motion for them to keep attacking. It'll help me."

Riku waved his Keyblade in the air.

Across the reactor, Sora waved back. Eraqus nodded. "Keep it up!"

"Pearl!"

"Holy!"

"Faith!"

"Almagest(2)!"

"Saintly Beam!"

The giant Heartless spun around, roaring; with ever roar, it summoned smaller Heartless around it. Moroi Heartless appeared around, lumbering around the reactor, taking the attacks meant for the Monuca.

Sora took the hand of Kairi and smiled. "Let's do that attack from before."

"Yeah!"

"HOLY BREATH!"

Riku looked over at Hayato as the guard chuckled. "Too easy…" A minute later, his weapon twanged, a silver-tipped bolt, his only one actually made of silver(3) flying down. It struck between the Monuca's shoulders. Steam rose from the arrow as the monster rolled over on its back, pawing it the arrow as best it could. Thankfully, the paws couldn't reach the arrow. "Give me those garlic bombs."

Riku handed him one. Hayato dipped the arrow in the garlic before firing it down. He did this over and over as the other continued to fire Holy elemental spells down upon the monster.

"Huh?" Riku looked up, noticing a lone figure standing on a pipe, looking down at the battle. "Hayato, I'm gonna check something out."

"Go for it."

The young master ran along the wall, leaping across the pipes, but as he drew close, he recognized the lone person. "You!"

"I was wondering if you'd notice." Young Xehanort summoned his Keyblade just in time to block an attack from Riku. "Are you enjoying the battle?"

"Why are you here?"

"I am here to set the stage." The boy chuckled, leaping away. "It is almost time for the final clash, but I do believe your team is too crowded."

Riku paused, cocking his head slightly in confusion. "I don't get it. You only have seven members left!"

"And that is more than enough." The young man nimbly dodged any attack against him. "But we need you to fight, not to win." His smirk widened, glinting in the moonlight. "If you wish to keep the advantage you have, you should protect your group's heart before I take it from you."

"Our heart?"

Young Xehanort leapt away, thrusting a hand toward the Monuca. "Yes, now enjoy your all-night fight." Darkness slithered across the ground, rising up into the monster. It glowed a dark purple and all damage taken from the attacks vanished completely.

"What did you do!?"

Young Xehanort vanished into the darkness, completely gone.

Whatever he did, it gave that Heartless a second wind… and a third wind, and a fourth.

It just refused to die.

The hours ticked on and on. Mana ran dry. Ethers ran out. Eventually, all anyone could do was hold it off. The monster screeched at every attack, but it refused to fall.

As the hours passed, the warriors felt their strength fall. Exhaustion pulled at them, but they couldn't let this Heartless live another day or risk losing innocent people to it.

Eventually, the sky lightened, a tinge of orange running along the edge or the horizon. "The sun!" Sasuke yelled. "Keep it here until sunrise!"

The Heartless noticed this and began to go into a frenzy. It ran in circles around the reactor, searching for an escape. All the warriors leapt down, slashing at the Heartless, hoping to keep it contained.

The world around them began glowing a deep red, the sun came up, not the golden yellow or the soft orange, but a deep red, red as blood.

How fitting.

How fitting that as the bloody rays of light struck the white fur of the blood-sucking monster, it seemed to burn the monster.

The Monuca screeched as the light touched it. Slowly, its body began to vanish, crumbling away until only a pile of redwood-colored ash remained and a heart floated away into the red sky.

…

Keyblades and swords clattered to the ground.

Bodies thudded down as legs gave out after a night of battle.

"I'm going to sleep…"

"Me too…"

"Yep…"

* * *

Everyone, somehow, managed to drag themselves back to the castle, where they all fell into bed as they were.

Sweaty.

Dirty.

Injured.

Shredded clothes.

Shoes on.

No one cared. All they wanted to do was rest.

But… in his exhaustion, Riku forgot…

* * *

Sora laid out in bed… dreaming deeply. Perhaps too deeply…

 _He found himself once more standing on a plain of silver grass. The glade of silvery trees rested off to his left and to the right rose cliffs of shining obsidian from which a waterfall cascaded down into a pool of water that reflected the moonlight above._

 _Sora blinked for a moment as he noticed a woman standing by the pool of water, facing him. She wore a long white dress with a beaded bodice. Her white hair fell in soft curls around the tops of her shoulders. Her eyes, pupil and colorless, glowed slightly._

 _She smiled, motioning for Sora to come her way. The boy slowly walked toward her._

 _As he drew near, she began walking across the pond. Her feet didn't sink into the water. With every step, ripples flowed from her footsteps._

 _Without even thinking, the boy followed her. His own steps going across the top of the water._

 _The two walked across the pool, toward the waterfall. The woman passed through the_ waterfall, _and Sora behind her._

 _He wasn't afraid. In his mind, he did think for a minute about how stupid this was. He was walking toward a waterfall that could kill him, but he just kept going. The sound echoed in his ears as he drew nearer, and he walked, passing right through the water without feeling anything._

 _Light flashed before his eyes and then…_

 _Sora was no longer on that world._

 _He found himself surrounded by sky. Below, above, before, and behind. As he stepped, the ground rippled as if he was on_ water _, but the ground felt solid._

 _"What is this place?"_

 _"The Final World." A man's voice spoke. Sora turned and saw a man in a dark blue yukata with brown hair and deep blue eyes. "It's good to see you, Sora."_

 _Sora blinked. "How do you know my name? And what's The Final World?"_

 _"My name…?" The man sat down on the rippling ground, patting it for Sora to sit beside him. "Just call me Oukoku, Oukoku Gatsu." Sora sat; somewhere in the back of his mind and heart, he felt as if he knew the strange man before him, but he didn't. He'd never seen this guy. "Now, as for this world. Well, I can say that you're asleep, and well… this world. The edges of sleep and death are close, so sometimes one crosses over."_

 _Oukoku laughed as Sora flinched. "Wait, so I'm…"_

 _"No, you're not dead. You're sleeping, but you cross over sometimes. Honestly, you do it quite often. Now as for me, I'm dead." He laughed again. "I figured this was the best place to talk with you, so I asked my friend to lead you here."_

 _"The woman? Who is she?"_

 _The man closed his eyes. "I can't really say just yet, but you can call her_ Bearm _(4)." He opened his eyes and sighed. "But enough about that, how's my Keyblade working for you?"_

 _"Your Keyblade?"_

 _"Yeah, I was the one who passed it on to you, as well as my Ethereal magic." He stood up, holding out a hand to the boy. "Want me to teach you how to use it?"_

 _"Yeah!"_

 _"Firstly, Ethereal magic is powerful and can't really be used alone." Oukoku smiled. "You can only perform small spells with it alone, nothing really useful in battle. You can do smaller spells by borrow power from one other person, but a large group is best. That's why you were able to use my magic to save Eraqus. You shared the power with all the others. I can give you a spell list at another time." He tapped his chin. "Come to think of it, you might be able to use a few offensive spells on your own by channeling it through two weapons: the Keyblade and that katana you hold. You'll have to test it."_

 _Sora walked with the strange man, listening as he explained the ins and outs of his magic(5)._

 _Luckily, sleep seemed to make time move slowly, so who knows how long Sora spent in that dream… until she appeared again._

 _The woman in white suddenly flashed into existence in front of them, causing both Sora and Oukoku to leap back and let out a collective yelp. "Come on!" Oukoku gasped. "I'm already dead! I don't want an afterlife heart attack!"_

 _"Sora!" The woman grabbed the boy's shoulders. "Wake up! NOW!"_

 _Sora blinked but nodded. He closed his eyes, but…_

 _Nothing happened._

 _"Uh… how do I…?"_

 _"You should've woken up…"_

 _Oukoku stared at the woman. "Wait, he isn't waking up?"_

 _"Wait… what does that mean?" Sora's heart rate spiked as he took in the frantic, worried glances between the two. "What's going on!?"_

* * *

Young Xehanort stood beside Sora's bed, watching as Sora's chest stopped rising and falling. He heard the last gasping breath disappear.

Beside him floated a Heartless. His personal favorite. Bandages wound up the tall head and chains hung from the bottom; an empty heart-shaped hole made up the majority of its chest. In its right hand, it held a staff, dark and creepy, with still some residual dark red energy glowing around it.

The Lich(6) Heartless twitched slightly as its left hand lifted up. A heart, glowing softly, floated above its hand. Xehanort smirked.

"I warned you… we would be coming for the heart of your group…"

* * *

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Hayato was a character I mentioned in an old story, and Yamichaos27 built his character in his story "Moons of Fate".

(2) A FF spell that deals Holy elemental damage and Sap. It is only used by enemies.

(3) Silver is a weakness of vampires.

(4) This is an Anglo Saxon term that means "Heart/bosom as the seat of emotions".

(5) I invented this magic for Oukoku and Sora, and I'll show a bit of it in different places in my fics.

(6) SPOILER! The Lich is a Pureblood Heartless that is a KH3 boss, and the Heartless exists to usher hearts into the depths of darkness/the abyss. 

* * *

_VAs:_

 _Oukoku Gatsu- Alex Organ (Doranbolt/Mest Gryder, Shota Aizawa, Kaku, Norway)_

* * *

 **Joy**

I've decided to go through the Fruit of the Spirit in these devos. I have talked a lot about love, so I'm jumping to the next one, Joy.

Joy is one of the hardest things to keep a hold of. It is a choice to have joy. When days are hard and things seem to be going nuts, we can choose to have joy and focus on the good things in life.

Joy is something that is usually the first thing to get attacked. When bad things happen, joy is usually the first thing to go, but we can choose to have it.

Having joy doesn't mean that we are always happy. Happiness is an emotion and emotions come and go. Joy is knowing that God has everything under control and being thankful for what you happen; it's not worrying about what's to come but focusing on how faithful God has been so far.

It's not easy, but it is essential. And sometimes, we can't do it on our own, but we can strive for you, and God can give us joy. Psalm 94:19 says, " _When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy._ "

Nehemiah 8:10, " _Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength._ "


	51. Chapter 51: One More Second

**I took a lot of inspiration from the game for this chapter and for what I want to see from a certain character in the future.**

 **I hope you guys like it!**

 **BTW, expect less frequent updates for the next month or two, just letting you guys know.**

 **Thanks to everyone who has followed and favorited!**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Sasuke © to Yamichaos27!**

 **Other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 51: One More Second**

* * *

"I didn't expect you to be awake after that battle."

"I just needed some time to think." Eraqus sat down in the library across from Ansem the Wise.

"Would you like some tea?"

"I would, thank you."

Ansem waved over a servant who quickly dashed out and came back a few minutes later with a tray of tea for the two men. For a time, they sat in silence. "You seem distracted."

"I'm tired." Eraqus spoke plainly. "Not just tired from the fight last night. I'm just tired. "My time is over. It was over many years ago. I perished, but Xehanort brought me back. I should not be here. I watch my students and how much they've grown, and I can see that they are ready to step out on their own." He took a sip of tea. "It's time for the old generation to step back and let the new one step up to protect the worlds. They've already begun and done an amazing job so far."

"What do you plan to do?"

"When this is over, I'll probably retire… and go home."

Ansem smiled. "I assume you don't mean the place where you trained your students."

"You are right." The master smiled. "My original home is a place called Yggdrasil(1). I haven't been home in so long…"

* * *

"Augh!" Kairi's hand shot to her chest as she sat up. Pain shot through her chest. She breathed heavily, trying to figure out where the pain came from. "Sora…?" Kairi jumped to her feet and hurried out of her room. Throwing the door open, she ran down the hall to Sora's room. "Wake up! Everyone get up!"

She heard people moving and muttering in the rooms as she passed. Each of them waking up at her cry.

Throwing the door to Sora's room open, her eyes moved across the room.

Young Xehanort turned and smirked. "Ah, you're here. I assume that fruit told you he was hurting. But you're far too late."

The Lich turned.

Kairi saw Sora's body and the heart in the Heartless' hand. "SORA!" The Lich vanished in a dark portal just as the others came running over to the room. "Give him his heart back!" She reached to the desk beside her where Dawn's Might, sheath and all lay, and lunged forward, tumbling through the portal.

"Kairi!"

Young Xehanort smirked at Riku. "You forgot. I told you we would come for your group's heart." he warped away.

"Sora! All of you find Kairi!" Riku ran to the bed, grabbing Sora's shoulders, shaking him slightly as some of the others left. "Sora?" His friend felt cold to the touch. "Sora!?"

Ansem, Ienzo, and Eraqus ran into the room. "What's happened?"

"Sora… he's…"

Ienzo walked over. "He's not breathing!"

"Get him to the lab!" Ansem cried. "Riku, find Kairi. We'll take care of Sora."

Riku and Eraqus hurried out of the room. The old master glancing down at the young man beside him. "Do not worry, we will find a way to help Sora. He's strong."

"I know…" That didn't stop the young master from worrying. His friend was cold, not breathing, and had no heartbeat. He was… Riku couldn't bear to say the word 'dead'. But it was the correct term.

* * *

Kairi tumbled out of the dark portal, skidding across the stone of the central gardens.

The Lich looked down at her, still holding Sora's heart. Chains wrapped around the heart as it disappeared into the Lich. "Let his heart go!"

"Why Princess, I didn't expect you to be so reckless."

"Release his Heart!" The princess drew her Keyblade, slashing at the young man.

Young Xehanort chuckled. "Perhaps I will. But only for the cost of another's heart. Are you willing to make that sacrifice?"

Kairi stood up, gripping her Keyblade tightly. "I am, but I'm not going to. I'll save him! For every time he's saved me… It's my turn."

With a push, Kairi leapt forward. Young Xehanort held up his Keyblade to block, but she shot past him, going directly for the Lich. Her attack went right through it before the body of the Heartless glowed red and burst, knocking her back.

Young Xehanort appeared in the corner of her eyes, poised to strike. Her Keyblade came up to block just in time. She slid back across the stony ground, Keyblade dragging through the pavement.

"Give up, Princess."

"Never!" She stood, eyes alight with resolve. For a moment, she thought of the Aeris, but she wasn't in the mental state… she wasn't sad, she wasn't angry. She was determined. Determined with a resolve that would not stop.

Her opponent smirked. He probably thought her foolish. His Keyblade extended into some sort of whip before lashing towards her. Kairi jumped back as he slung it around and around. When her feet hit the ground again, the whip wrapped around her own blade.

Now.

Kairi gripped her weapon tightly in her left hand, twisting the blade so that she wrapped more of the whip around it before grabbing the whip with her right hand and twisting it around.

With a pull, she sent her opponent careening toward her. Young Xehanort looked stunned, and unable to react as she let go the whip and her Keyblade just in time. Her body spun to the side as her leg came up at an arc, slamming into the young man's midsection.

The wind knocked from him, the young man gasped.

Kairi grabbed his hair in one hand and shoulder in another before driving her knee into his gut.

He warped back, taking a moment to catch his breath before summoning his Keyblade, which had fallen from his grasp, back to him. "How dare you!?" Lunging forward, he prepared to impale the girl on the end of his blade.

Just as he got close, Kairi sidestepped. Using one hand, she shoved his Keyblade aside before spinning around.

CRACK!

Her elbow made contact with his jaw, sending waves of pain up the man's face. He crumpled down, taking just a moment to cast Curza before warping back beside the Lich.

Young Xehanort's eyes were red, almost teary with pain from her assault; his hand clutched his jaw as it either reset or reassembled itself. "H-how!?" The words came out quiet, reaching through the pain.

"I had a little more training than needed. I don't like to use it because I could really injure someone by accident(2). But for this, I'll make an exception. Now, give Sora's heart back." Her own Keyblade reappeared in her hand. "Or I'll take it back myself!"

Golden eyes meeting indigo ones, the young man took a few deep breaths, the pain subsiding under the magic, but his face looked slightly swollen still. His eyes darted to the side as the rest of the group came running toward them.

"You know the price for getting back his heart, Princess." He warped away as the Lich vanished into a portal of its own, but left it open, almost beckoning her to follow.

Kairi took a deep breath as the others came over. "Kairi, you ok?"

"I'm fine." She reached down to where she'd dropped Dawn's Might when she first came through the portal. "I'm going after that thing."

"Not alone you're not."

"Yes, I am." The belt clicked as she tightened it around her waist. "Stay here, just in case."

Riku passed by the others and grabbed her arm. "I am NOT letting you go by yourself."

"I'd like to see you stop me." Kairi huffed before turning on him. "Let me do this. Riku, he's out there, confused and alone… and I can't leave him like that." Her eyes hardened. "Not for one more second(3)."

Riku blinked, slightly taken aback by the fire in her eyes. "Kairi…"

"Let her go. We have things for the rest of you to do anyway." Heartless suddenly wormed their way up from the ground around them. Nobodies slithered from the shadows. Unversed darted from their hiding places. Atop buildings around them, Ansem, Xemnas, Vanitas, Braig, and Isa appeared. "She knows what she has to do to bring back her precious Sora." Braig chuckled. "The rest of you should focus on making sure this town doesn't die."

The five on the rooftops took off in different directions as their minions scattered, looking for innocent people to attack.

Riku's eyes turned back to Kairi, the conflict obvious in his eyes. "Kairi… bring him back. And be careful." He turned and chased after Ansem.

"Thank you, Riku." Kairi leapt into the portal and it closed behind her.

* * *

 _"Do you mean I'm actually dead!?" Sora's breathing quickened at the thought of being actually dead._

 _Oukoku looked at the woman in white. "What happened?"_

 _"Xehanort had a Heartless, a special one, come and steal Sora's heart while he slept. I'll go talk to the others and we'll see what we can do." The woman vanished, leaving Sora and Oukoku alone._

 _The boy let out a long sigh and plopped onto the ground with a loud splat. Ripples floated out from where he now sat. "Well, now we wait."_

 _"Are you afraid, Sora?"_

 _"A little, I guess, but I know my friends will come for me. I'd do the same for them."_

 _"Yeah, I know." Oukoku sat beside him. "You have, what my wife would call, self-sacrifice syndrome. You will sacrifice yourself for someone without hesitation, which isn't bad, but you might want to look for another solution before jumping straight to that." He laughed. "But I'm not really one to talk if I'm being honest."_

 _The two laughed as they sat there, waiting._

* * *

Riku chased Ansem down the streets of town until he found his adversary waiting for him. "I'm almost surprised you followed me rather than went to save your friend."

"I put my faith in Kairi." Riku summoned his Keyblade. "And I'm going to stop you from hurting anyone in town."

"Then come at me."

Riku knew this was merely a way to buy time to deal with Kairi and Sora's heart. He just had to put his faith in both of them and keep Ansem at bay.

He and Ansem clashed, the young man ducking as the Guardian swung at him. Ansem laughed, until.

Crack!

The vessel gasped in pain, his hand grabbing the back of his head. He turned around to see a girl holding a brick, and a similar brick lay on the ground by Ansem's feet.

Riku looked up, making eye contact with the girl. "Hara!? Get inside!"

"No one messes with my favorite customer and gets away with it!" The girl tightened her grip on the brick in her hand.

"Hara! Get inside now!"

Ansem glared at the girl. "You are quite annoying, girl."

"I have that effect on all jerkwads."

"Silence!" Holding out his hand, Ansem sent a shot of darkness toward Hara. The attack exploded.

Hara looked up as the attack faded away, revealing Riku standing in front of her, blocking the attack. "Riku?"

"Get inside. Now. Thanks for the help, but you will get hurt. Go!"

Hara stared at him for a moment before going back inside her cafe, but not before whispering. "Thank you. Good luck…"

* * *

Kairi held Destiny's Embrace in her left hand and Dawn's Might in her right. Her eyes studied the katana, meant for Sora to protect her with, but now it was her turn to protect him with it.

She stepped into the darkness of the Villain's Vale where the Lich awaited. Above her, she saw Young Xehanort looking very perturbed. "You want to save Sora, and you will give your own heart in exchange. Either that or some other will die in the place of Sora."

"No one will die!" She charged at the Lich, slashing at it as other Heartless began to appear around her as well. Light coated her blades as she slashed in all directions.

She rushed past the Heartless, focusing everything she could on the Lich itself. She wasn't about to let that thing get away. Every attack against the Lich gave her more and more determination to keep going.

She saw a portal open up behind the Heartless.

"You are not getting away! I won't let you!" The princess jumped up, Dawn's Might in hand as she drove the blade through the Lich's head; her other hand hacked at the monster that held her friend's heart captive. "GIVE HIS HEART BACK!"

The monster shuddered as her blade pierced its body over and over. Finally, it moaned loudly and began to fade.

The heart held captive appeared, and the chains holding it shattered.

When the Lich vanished, the heart floated into Kairi's hands. She looked down at the crystalline heart(4), floating warmly in her hands. "Sora…"

"You kept your heart and your life." Young Xehanort called down. "So someone else will lose theirs." He vanished into the darkness with a deep chuckle.

Kairi looked up. She had faith in the others. They wouldn't lose. No one would die. And Sora would be safe.

Her feet began to carry her back toward town, hands cupped around the pink heart. The warmth felt the same as Sora's warm smile. His hugs. His kisses. It was Sora. She held him in her hands. She took off her pink vest(5) and wrapped it around the heart.

To keep him safe.

* * *

Kairi hurried through town, seeing the others locked in combat. Riku fought with Ansem. Lea, Roxas, and Xion with Xemnas. Terra, Aqua, Eraqus, and Ven clashed against Vanitas and Isa. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy attacked Braig.

She wanted to help, but… she needed to get Sora's heart back to him. That was priority number one.

She kept running, the heart in her hands.

She hurried into the castle, to the lab. Ansem, Ienzo, and Even stood around a small casket-like tube. "Uncle!"

"Kairi!" Ansem let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her. "I heard you went after Sora's heart. We managed to pull out an old cryo-unit from back when my father was ruling here(6). It is keeping Sora's body frozen and stops it from shutting down completely."

Kairi smiled. "Here." She unfolded the cloth, revealing the heart. "I have his heart."

"Good."

Ansem motioned to Ienzo, who pressed a few buttons and the cryo-unit popped open with a hiss, steam rising into the air.

Kairi looked down at Sora's body. He looked like he was sleeping. She barely managed to hold back a chuckle. He was dying and still, he looked so peaceful, like he always did when he slept.

Kairi held the heart over his chest, allowing it to sink into his body.

His chest rose and his mouth opened with a long breath. His blue eyes fluttered open, darting around with confusion. "Wh-why is it so cold…?"

"Sora!" Kairi leaned down and kissed him.

"Wait… I was dead, wasn't I?"

"Yeah… but you're ok now!" The princess pulled him out of the little casket. "Are you feeling ok?"

Sora blinked. "I don't know… maybe. I mean, I was dead. Where are the others?"

"Out fighting the Seekers of Darkness in town." Kairi took his hands. "Young Xehanort kept saying that I should give up my heart to save yours, or else someone will die."

"Die!? We better get to the others just in case!"

"Sora!" Ienzo placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Your body is still waking from cryo-sleep and your heart was absent from your body. You need to rest."

"I can't!" He tore away and ran out.

Kairi groaned. "That dolt! Sora wait!"

* * *

Ansem began to pull back, leading Riku back toward the center of town. As he entered the square, he could see the others, chasing their opponents to the same place.

But why bring them all together?

The seekers all bet in the center of the square before vanishing into the darkness without a word.

"What was that all about!?" Donald squawked.

Eraqus glanced around. "I don't trust this. It feels like a trap."

"Guys!"

Everyone turned as Sora ran into the square.

"SORA!"

"You're alright!"

Sora grinned. "Yeah I'm fi-" Donald and Goofy tackled him with a hug. "Ow, guys watch it. I was pretty much dead before."

"Yeah you were, and Ienzo said you should take it easy." Kairi huffed as she approached.

"But you said that Young Xehanort…"

"I know, but I don't want you passing out or going into a coma or something!" Kairi took Dawn's Might from her belt as he stood. "And this is yours." Her gaze turned on the others. "I got rid of the Heartless, but Young Xehanort said that I was supposed to give up my heart in exchange for Sora's, or someone else's life would be taken instead."

Lea crossed his arms, glancing around warily. "That doesn't sound sketchy at all…"

"Let's get inside," Ven suggested, "and away from any ambushes."

"I agree."

"And Sora can get some rest."

"Exactly, Goofy."

Sora threw his hands into the air. "Are you kidding me guys…"

Everyone chuckled lightly.

…

Up on a rooftop…

"Say goodbye."

Thunk!

"Augh!" Knees hit the ground as gasps of pain tricked from an open mouth.

Everyone turned around.

"Master Eraqus!"

The old man knelt on the ground as a large purple arrow stuck out of his back.

In the blink of an eye… Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

His body flinching as each arrow pierced his back again and again.

"MASTER!"

"NO!"

* * *

Young Xehanort watched from beside Braig, who dismissed his arrowgun. "Why Eraqus?"

"Is that sorrow and softness I hear Coot Jr.?"

"Not in the slightest… I was just curious."

"Well," Braig smirked, "he's had his time." The one-eyed man disappeared into the darkness, leaving the boy alone.

The young man looked down at Eraqus, and the young people surrounding him. For a moment, he saw himself kneeling beside a younger Eraqus.

" _Come one, Eraqus. Don't give up! You can do it!_ "

… he blinked. That day and age; that friendship. Was over.

* * *

 **Some of you knew this was coming…**

 **Still.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This will be expanded on in the Xehanort story I'm working on.

(2) This is a reference to the final chapter of my story "Training Series"

(3) Most of you should recognize this line.

(4) This was what the hearts looked like when the Lich took them.

(5) Remember, she's wearing my KH3 outfit for her, not her official one. 

* * *

**Peace**

Tests. Interviews. Meetings. Homework. Dates.

All these things can be very stressful, or could even bring about anxiety to a person. Sometimes, actually a lot of the time, we could really use a bit of peace in our lives. Taking the time to see that God has everything in his hands is how we find it.

We can stress about things. When we could just step back and say, the Lord has this. We do our best and trust that He is looking out for us and will carry us through.

1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." While this can seem difficult sometimes as we tend to freak out, it is possible.

We give the cares to God and let him direct our paths. Doing so brings about a strange sense of peace. One would think that having no idea of what is in your future would be scary, but knowing that someone better and smarter than you has it in His hands gives you peace.


	52. Chapter 52: Ultimo- Premiere

**We have reached the end of the line.**

 **This chapter is pretty short as it is the… well, the opening scene for the final act!**

… **Shakespeare class is getting to me guys…**

 **Whatever, enjoy the chapter!  
And I apologize for the amount of Latin in the chapter.**

 **Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!**

 **Yamato © to Yamichaos27!  
All other OCs © to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 52: Ultimo- Premiere**

* * *

" _Quid tibi, mors, faciam quae nulli parcere nosti? nescis laetitiam, nescis amare iocos_. _his ego praevalui toto notissimus orbi, hinc mihi larga domus hinc mihi census erat. gaudebam semper…_ (1)"

Terra's voice quivered as he quoted the ancient text. He'd been told that Keyblade wielders would say these words over their masters who fell in battle.

As he spoke, Aqua and Ven stood beside the wooden casket, staring down at their master's peaceful face.

" _quid enim si gaudia desint hic vagus ac fallax utile mundus habet_? _me viso rabidi subito cecidere furores, ridebat summus me veniente dolor_. _non licuit quemquam mordacibus urere curis nec rerum incerta mobilitate trahi_. _vincebat cunctos praesentia nostra timores et mecum felix quaelibet ora fuit_."

Sora, leading the others, laid flowers, soft white lilies, inside the casket around Eraqus' still form. The boy's hands shook.

This was his fault…

" _motibus ac dictis tragica quoque voce placebam exhilarans variis tristia corda modis_ , _fingebam vultus, habitus ac verba loquentur ut plures uno crederis ore loqui_. _ipse etiam, quem nostra oculis geminabat imago, horruit in vultos se macis esse meos_. _o quoties imitata meo se femina gestu vidit et erubuit totaque compta fuit_."

"You didn't do this." Ven grabbed Sora's arm, looking his friend in the eye. "This was Xehanort, and he will pay for this."

"I-I know…" Sora's heart ached, but he'd blamed himself enough for things like this. His eyes watched the others place their flowers inside the casket.

" _ergo quot in nostro videbantur corpore formae tot mecum raptos abtulit atra dies_. _quo vos iam tristi turbatus deprecor ore qui templum legitis cum pietate meum_ ' _o quam laetus eras, Vitalis' dicite maesti."_

Terra, Aqua, and Ven opened their mouths to say the final line… but a new voice, old and gravely spoke from the shadows. "' _sint tibi, Vitalis, sint tibi laeta modo."_

Everyone gasped as Xehanort himself walked into the open.

"What are you doing here!?"

"Do I not have the right to mourn my old friend?"

Terra stepped between the old man and Eraqus' body. "It was one of your men who did this to him!"

"And I wish that it had not come to that." Xehanort sighed. "I do wish Braig hadn't chosen my old friend as the one to kill." His eyes, gold and unsettling glimmered with sorrow. As much as they wanted to, no one could refute the emotion present. "Know this, you have the advantage. But we must still bring about balance. We will be waiting at the fated place."

"Why!?" Sora yelled. "You don't have your thirteen!"

"Light fades to Darkness, and Darkness to Light."

"Huh…"

The old man turned around, pausing for a moment to mutter one last thing. " _Oh, how happy you were, Life. May you, Life, may you just be happy again_ (2)."

They heard the sound of a corridor opening and closing. Then silence.

Ansem the Wise laid his hand on Aqua's shoulder. "We will keep your master here until you return."

"Thank you, Ansem."

Mickey scratched his chin, eyes closed in deep thought. "Xehanort still wants to meet us in battle. I think I know why, but I'm not entirely certain…"

"You mean that whole 'Light fades to Darkness, and Darkness to Light' thing?" Lea asked.

"Yep." The mouse king furrowed his brow. "There's nothing we can do now but go meet him in battle and finish this once and for all."

"That's all we can do." Sora clenched his fists. "We're ending this… for everyone that he's ever hurt. Master Eraqus. Kaname. Rimi. Yamato. Arata. Everyone." He turned, a fire blazing in his eyes. "Let's go."

* * *

The flight to the Keyblade Graveyard was silent. No one felt like talking as the ominous air of battle hung over them all.

Only Kyokan made noise; the little Unversed skittered around trying to get the attention of anyone it could to give it attention. It was an Unversed, so all the negative tension was probably making the little guy nervous.

Eventually, he burrowed into Ven's lap and sat still.

Sora sat near the back of the ship, holding Kairi's hand. He stared out the window at the stars passing by. Ever so often, he'd feel her squeeze his hand, and he'd squeeze back.

A silent promise to one another to protect one another in battle till the end.

* * *

"Kyokan, stay… I said, stay."

Ven crossed his arm at the little Unversed who followed them from the ship. It jumped up onto his shoulder and hung on, whimpering slightly when the boy glared at it.

"Let it come," Riku sighed. "Pretty sure the Yenlow wants to find his master."

"Guess so."

They walked across the broken landscape, eyeing the ancient scars from the battle that changed the fate of the world. Everything looked so dead, and so devoid of anything that one wondered if life would ever spring from the barren ground again.

They came to a wall of rock that split with a tunnel through to an open area. The glare from that open area filled the gap, allowing no one to see through.

They followed the tunnel through and stepped out.

Stepped into a clearing of ruin.

As far as the eye could see, broken, rusted, lifeless Keyblades. One could only imagine the wielders that once held these now dead weapons. It made one's heart ache.

"Where do we go now?"

Kyokan leapt off Ven's shoulders and skittered across the dirt, heading deeper into the Keyblade Graveyard.

"Kyokan!?" Ven, Kairi, and Xion took off after the little creature.

"Catch that Unversed!"

They followed the small creature across the dirt until Ven caught up, scooping it into his arms. "What's gotten into you?" His eyes lifted up. "Oh…" Vanitas stood in the middle of the Keyblades, grinning over at them.

"Well, looks like that little traitor did something good after all." The others ran up as the Yenlow yipped at its master, wagging its tail. "Ok, stop barking…"

"Vanitas?"

"Thanks for making this easy, but I guess I can actually thank my Unversed… first useful thing it's done." He snapped his fingers.

Walls of rock shot up on every side of the group. Sora barely had time to blink before Young Xehanort came down at him. The boy rolled out of the way. Glancing up, he saw the other immediately set upon by the other Seekers of Darkness as well as Nobodies, Unversed, and Heartless.

Behind them all, he saw the old man. Watching. All sorrow over Eraqus gone.

"Sora!" Kairi called, crossing blades with Young Xehanort. "We'll handle these guys, go get him!"

"Right!" Sora took his Keyblade in his left hand and drew Dawn's Might with his right. Leaping over the others, he charged Master Xehanort.

The old man warped out of the way, and Sora felt a series of swift strikes hit his back.

Sora turned around and slashed Dawn's Might across Xehanort's arm. He heard the old man hiss in pain as he turned in the air, blocking an oncoming strike from No Name.

The impact sent him back, sliding across the dusty ground. The boy dismissed his Keyblade and clutched Dawn's Might as the sword glowed and orange-brown. "Smite of Dawn!"

Slicing through the air, the attack struck the old man's blade.

In the back of his mind, Sora felt something. An idea. He resumed Key to the Kingdom and held both blades together. The bright white light of the keyblade mixed with the katana's glow. "Fury of Morning's Light!" He stabbed the blades into the dirt.

A shockwave of light and darkness rippled across the ground, slamming into Xehanort.

Sora watched as the glow vanished. "Guess you were right, Oukoku…" He lifted both swords up. "Give it up, Xehanort! You don't have enough members to create the χ-blade!"

"You understand so little, boy…"

"That's Sora!"

The old master vanished into a dark corridor, his men doing the very same. Ever Heartless, Unversed, and Nobody scattered, leaving the heroes alone.

They looked up at one of the high walls, where their enemies reappeared.

Xehanort smirked down at them. "While the advantage in numbers is yours, we will still prevail." Keyblade in hand, he pointed it up at the sky. A blast of darkness fired into the clouds above. The sky began to swirl, parting to reveal a massive, glowing, eerie, and beautiful heart-shaped moon.

Xehanort dismissed his blade and held up a hand. "Darkness to Light and Light to Darkness. 13 and 7. Our clash is complete. Behold!" A glow of dark and light flashes in his hand. "The χ-blade!"

A sword, massive, with two Keyblades crossing below the glittering blade, appeared in his hand.

"No…"

The old man grinned. "Now, I believe we need a better arena!" Holding up the blade toward the moon, a beam of light shot forth. The light grew, encompassing Xehanort and his men.

It faded.

Their enemies gone.

In their place wound a spiral staircase of glittering white crystal, leading into a white ornate door(3).

"What do we do now…?"

"We go after them!" Sora grinned. His face turned serious, even though a smile still decorated his face.

Riku stared up at the door. "Darkness fades to light…" He gasped. "I get it! What Xehanort meant. Darkness can become light and light darkness. 7 and 13. To form the χ-blade he just needs those groups. It can be 7 lights and 13 darknesses, as we thought, but it could also be 7 darknesses and 13 lights. Now, we have the numerical advantage and he knows it; he's smart, so expect anything and everything when we go in there."

"So that's it… he was trying to make sure he kept the numerical advantage." Terra sighed. "Then let's move."

They ran across the dirt, each making their way up the wall in some way, whether by magic, gliders, or just running up the wall.

The staircase glittered in the moonlight, seemingly casting a mysterious light. Small motes of light floated up from the ground toward the moon. "Pretty…" Naminè reached out, cupping one of the lights in her hand.

"You should draw this later." Ven smiled, cupping another light in his own hand.

Aqua touched the staircase. "I think this is white hecatolite(4), also known as moonstone." She glanced up at the heart-shaped moon. "Fitting…"

"As interesting as all this is," Lea smirked, taking his first step of the glimmering stairs, "I'm ready to kick that old man's butt. How about you guys?"

"Yeah!"

Sora glanced around. Everyone, despite taking a moment to look at the beauty of the situation that they would never see again, looked determined. "Yeah, let's move."

Pushing past Lea, Sora led them up the stairs. He pushed open the door, flooding their vision with light.

* * *

 _ **Velum surgit in ultimum actum. Turba silet murmur, scaenicos parati, et tempus posuere. Coeperit.**_

* * *

 **We have reached the beginning of the end!**

 **There will be a theme with the titles of these chapters, and there will be little Latin moments at the bottom. I'll let you guys translate them.**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) This is a Latin poem about death. I'd put the full translation on here, but it's a massive poem.

(2) This is a translation of the line Xehanort said in Latin.

(3) It would look a lot like the door to Kingdom Hearts from the first game.

(4) Moonstone is a form of feldspar.

* * *

 **Patience**

Moving down the list of the Fruit of the Spirit, we come to the one that, well… most people don't' like. I remember as a kid singing the "Patience Song" every time I wasn't patient… I can still hear that song in my head.

No one likes to wait, but sometimes we have to.

We pray to God, asking him to do things for us… but He doesn't always do them when we want. He does things on His time. Sometimes, we are told to wait.

It can be hard to wait, especially when we're excited or anxious, and that is why we need God's help.

Sometimes, patience seems easier than others, other times you end up pacing around.

But we can strive to be patient, and ask for help when we need it. We may not get it right every single time, but that's part of being human. All we can do is do our best and ask God for help.


	53. Chapter 53: Ultimo- Interlude

**Sorry, it took so long to update.  
And it might take longer… my laptop broke. **

**Fun, right.**

 **Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 53: Ultimo- Interlude**

* * *

The light faded into a silvery glimmer.

Sora gasped. It was… the land with silver grass. The place he'd visited in his dreams. "Is this a dream?"

"Nope."

He turned, looking over at all his friends. "So, is this Kingdom Hearts? I've been here in my dreams."

"Me too."

"Same."

Sora turned around, his hands brushing the silver grass around him, feeling the soft foliage against his hand. In the distance, a forest of trees with dark wood and silver leaves sparkled against the night sky. He heard water running, and could just barely make out the shimmering of water along the edge of the forest. Little flowers that looked like buttercups popped up here and there, almost glowing a soft pastel color. Mountains, glistening with snow, stretched beyond the forest.

"But if this is Kingdom Hearts, then why is that here?" Lea pointed up to the thing that gave light to this land. The heart-shaped moon that cast an ethereal light across everything.

Sora blinked. That's right, if this was Kingdom Hearts, then they should be on that moon… shouldn't they?"

Movement caught his eye to their left. "Huh?" A woman. Sora's eyes widened. The woman in white who tried to warn him about the Lich. "Hey!" He smiled, jogging over to her.

"Sora?" Kairi caught his arm. "Who is that?"

"I don't know, but she tried to help me, and she led me to a friend. He said I could call her… dang, I forgot. It was when the Lich stole my heart. She tried to wake me up." He watched as she walked across the grass, a soft glow covering her. "Come on!" He jogged after the woman, the others following behind.

They walked in silence, each one wanting to call out to the woman who walked ahead, but it was as if some unknown spell kept them from talking the further they walked into this world.

Their steps took them along the river that ran beside the forest. The water was clear as crystal and the moonlight danced in the current. Down below, the group could see what looked like little catfish swimming along, but the bodies of the little animals were pure white, like moonstone themselves.

"They're called Luna Piscis, the moonfish." The woman spoke, her voice soft and instructive, like a mother explaining things to a child.

All around them, life sprang up. Moths with glittering green wings. Large herons stood in the water, their gray and blue feathers fluffing up at the sight of the strange humans.

In all his dreams of this place, Sora never saw this much life, or any life for that matter.

The grass beside them rustled and a little fox, its fur a pastel pink and yellow, stared up at them. Beside it, stood up a leopard with soft yellow fur and silver spots. The two animals watched them curiously.

A silver and blue snake poked its head out to watch the people pass.

A bear with brown fur, flecked with tan and silver, cocked its head, growling slightly in caution.

Though, the most amazing thing was when a unicorn strode out from among the forest trees, watching them with soft eyes as the wind tossed its blue and silver fur and mane.

Near to the unicorn, a dark gray goat with shining blue eyes(1) watched them as well.

Kyokan, perched upon Ven's shoulder, yipped at the animals, bouncing in delight when they each called back in their own angelic way.

It was such a tranquil place. So full of natural life and light. It just felt safe.

The group followed the woman over the crest of a hill and stopped, staring down into a valley. The little glowing flowers covered the entire valley, lining the edge of the river which parted, creating a sort of starlike network of streams over the valley, all moving around a castle.

A castle of moonstone. The walls stood high around the spire in the center. The outer walls created the shape of a star with a long hallway leading inside. The entire building seemed like it was glowing as the moonlight reflected off the moonstone.

It was… in a word…

Breathtaking.

The woman led them down to the long hallway, to two white doors that were smaller versions of the same door Sora and the others closed at the end of their first journey.

All of that seemed like so long ago…

The woman turned before the doors, here pure white eyes glowing as she smiled warmly. "Welcome to Kingdom Hearts and to its core: the castle of Reliquit Aetherium." A beam of moonlight seemed to appear around her, shrinking to a pin of light, and then… she was gone.

"Wak!?" Donald looked around. "Where'd she go!?"

Mickey's hand rested on the doors. "I don't know, but she didn't seem evil." The door swung open all on its own, beckoning them inside. "You guys ready?"

"Yeah."

They all stepped inside. The halls were mostly white with ornate decorations of gold and silver along the walls. Every other step, there was a stained glass window on each side.

Ven reached the first one and gasped. "I-it's moving!?"

The glass picture was of a world and kept changing between villages where people ran around and played happily. There was a sense of peace and tranquility that radiated from it.

"That was before the Keyblade War." Before the window appeared the shimmering figure of Oukoku Gatsu, smiling at them. "Welcome."

Sora stepped forward. "Oukoku?"

"Yes, it's me, Sora." He smiled. "Glad to see you well again. I knew you'd be coming here eventually, so I waited for you here."

Terra narrowed his eyes at the stranger. "Who are you."

"I am Oukoku Gatsu, Keyblade wielder from ancient days… and the victor of the first Keyblade War."

"WHAT!?"

The man grinned. "I'm also dead and pretty much a ghost. I figured I'd guide you once you got into the castle, though the others wanted to do the same. But I digress…"

"You're really the victor of the first Keybade war?" Ven blinked.

"That's right." The ghost stepped aside, his hand on the sill of the stained glass window. "Do you know what these are?" No one spoke. "These windows tell stories of the past. This one… this is what life was like before the war. Everyone was happy and content. Until darkness came."

The window shifted, showing a man with black hair surrounded in darkness.

"Oni Mou brought darkness upon the world and thrust us into the Keyblade War." Oukoku beckoned for them to follow to the next window. "Each widow tells a tale. My story, Oni Mou's story… and more." He led them down past each window that told an epic tale of some adventure, until he stopped. "Even the story of Xehanort himself."

"Xehanort?"

They gathered around the window where they saw a mother holding a baby until doctors came and ushered the child away. The window changed to show Xehanort as a young boy playing with a purple-haired girl; the glass swirled as if to show the bright imaginations of the children. Until, the image of Xehanort doubled over, blood coming from his mouth. The next image was of him running from his home and meeting up with a man and boy who took him to a world where a castle sat on a giant hill.

The images that came after were quick flashes, hazy and vague. Then it stopped. On the image of Xehanort with the purple-haired girl, and them kissing at an altar.

Venus. His wife.

The window showed them dancing happily until Xehanort's side of the window grew dim with darkness and Venus pulled away, leaving him. Then, the darkness grew into a wave that covered everything.

"That's so sad…" Xion spoke softly.

Naminè agreed. "He looked happy once."

"He was… but the darkness was always lurking. Now, come. I think you'll like these."

The next few windows… their stories. Terra's window. Aqua's. Ven's… everyone's.

Riku watched the story of his fall to darkness play out on the window before turning to Oukoku. "Oukoku, why are our stories here?"

"You'll see." He grinned.

"Oh, stop playing around." A female voice huffed. A woman, dressed in pink with long purple hair, appeared. She looked quite peeved. "Just tell them, Oukoku."

The man sighed. "If you insist, Fu. Come on out guys!" Six other spirits appeared in the room. Riku jumped at the teal-haired man who appeared beside him. A moment later, he gasped. "Wait! I saw you in the Underworld, talking to my sister…"

"Good eye, Riku." He smiled. "My name is Noboru Akatsuki."

Oukoku spread out his arms. "We're all warriors from the ancient Keyblade War. Our lines have continued on our homeworlds, until we met once again."

"Lines?" Goofy cocked his head.

"Bloodlines."

Oukoku walked over to Sora, looking down into the boy's eyes. Their eyes mirrored one another. Sora gasped lightly. "A-are we related?"

"We are," a woman in a light blue and pink kimono, with soft brown hair, "My name is Kokoro. My husband and I… we're your ancestors, Sora." Sora stared up at the ghostly couple who grinned down at him. Blue eyes. Brown hair… He turned around to his own window; he saw himself with Oukoku and Kokoro standing behind him. Oukoku turned his attention over to Roxas and grinned, "Come here, kid. I count you as my descendant too."

Kokoro moved away and knelt before Xion with a smile. "I count you as mine as well. And I hope my Keyblade has served you well."

"Wait, you gave me the Keyblade?"

"Yes, it was a gift. Seeker of the Stars served me very well for a long time," Kokoro took Xion's hands in her own. "I hoped it would serve you just as well."

Noboru put his hand on Riku's shoulders, the boy stiffening under the cold touch. "The reason why I was with your sister, I'm your ancestor and hers. She's a good kid, by the way. And, sorry I couldn't protect her or you, but you've grown from the struggles you went through, and I'm proud to call you my ancestor." The ghost looked down at the boy who smiled at the spirit before him.

Kairi looked up at the woman in pink. "And you are Fu?"

"Fuyu actually." The woman sighed. "Oukoku calls me that… better than our old friend who used to call me 'Fufu'(2)." She smirked, a hand on her hip. "You know, I'm awfully proud of you, Kairi. I'm proud of your parents too." Fuyu glanced over toward Naminè. "And how has my Keyblade served you?"

Naminè blinked. "Wait, this is yours?" She summoned Embrace of Destiny.

"That's right." Fuyu grinned, patting the blonde's head. "And, I am so sorry… I wanted to protect you in Castle Oblivion I would've killed Marluxia given the chance. And Kairi, I am sorry that your parents passed…"

Lea stepped back, letting the others talk. "You know, you're not getting left out." A man with red hair grinned at him. "Hotaru Yoshi!"

"Are you my ancestor?"

"Yep!" Hotaru laughed. "What? Didn't think you had an old Keyblade Master for an ancestor?" He patted his descendant on the back. "By the way, good job taking care of those two kids." He pointed at Roxas and Xion. "It always broke my heart to see children suffering."

A woman with long brown hair, dressed in green, smiled at Aqua. "My name is Sachi Kawa. I am your ancestor… and I'm so sorry. I couldn't get you out of the Realm of Darkness sooner. I really tried."

"Well, thank you," Aqua spoke softly, still in awe at the woman before her.

A man in blue, with soft brown hair, walked over to Terra, grinning. "Hello, my name is Sakae Ren."

"And you're my ancestor I assume."

"Correct." The spirit put his hands behind his back with a smile. "It is good to see you restored to your old self. I tried to comfort your lingering will in the Keyblade Graveyard, but I did not know if my words could reach you." His face grew serious. "Terra, you are planning on going home after all this, are you not?"

Terra paused, looking into the deep brown eyes of the ghost. "I don't know. Aqua told me that my father had changed, but…"

"They have." Sakae smiled again. "They miss you greatly. Please, go see them."

"I-I will…"

Ven looked up at the ginger-haired man who smiled down at him. "My name is Osamu Yuki. It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Ventus." He grinned wider as Kyokan lept up onto Ven's shoulder, sniffing at the spirit. "And I see the hope for my other descendant is here too."

"Other? You mean Vanitas?"

Osamu sighed. "I do. That boy has endured so much… He blames you for all his suffering, and Xehanort's lies have not helped that. I have done what I can to reach out to him, but I can only do so much. When this is all over, I will reach for him once more. Hopefully, I won't be alone this time." Osamu held out his glowing hand, and Kyokan jumped over, somehow able to sit on the spirit's shoulder. "I hope you don't mind if I borrow this little guy."

"Go ahead."

Mickey looked around at everyone and their ancestors, his eyes wide in amazement. "I cannot believe all of you are part of a legacy like this."

"They're not the only ones." Kokoro sighed, clasping her hands before her. "Before the war, there was one more of us. Oni Mou. He was the man who started the war in the first place." She glanced around as everyone's eyes now looked to her. "When Oni captured the first seven Princesses of Heart, myself and his wife were among them. Being with child at the time, I noticed that Oni's wife, Makoto was also with child. When the war was over, the land split into many worlds. Makoto was on the same world as myself and Noboru, what you now know at the Destiny Islands. There, Makoto gave birth to her son… she did love our new home, and the beautiful sky. So, she named him, Sora." Her eyes glanced at Sora, her own descendant staring at her with curious eyes. "And that is when we realized the curse… Oni was the first to fall to darkness, and his line is cursed. They will be drawn to darkness much easier than anyone else, but it is not guaranteed that they will fall. But, Oni's descendant, Xehanort, did."

"Xehanort!?"

Oukoku nodded. "He is Oni's descendant, as are your friends Areth and Owari. And yes, the curse is still on them as well."

"I-is there any way to break it?"

"Yes," Kokoro smiled, "someone from our line must bond with someone from Oni's, and not just a bond of friendship, but a much deeper bond. And I doubt that will happen in this generation. But Areth and Owari are good people, so I doubt that you'll have any issues with them."

Oukoku nodded. "Now, I hate to but in, but we should move on. Xehanort is waiting… and so is she."

"She?"

The spirits all began to move down the hall to a set of crystal doors which glittered despite the fact that no actual light was inside the building. The doors swung open to reveal a great hall. White marble floors reflected the moonlight which streamed in from the clear crystal ceiling. From the roof hung a chandelier; the moonlight passing through the crystal cast soft rainbows around the room. The walls were made of opal, with the rainbow cracks in the wall glowing softly in the light. Light blue tapestries made of sheer voile fabric hung from the walls and ceiling, and purple ones hung on the other end of the room, behind a dais made of fluorite, on which sat thrones of moonstone.

The thrones, however, kept changing, fading in and out. Sometimes thirteen of them, sometimes seven. No more, no less.

"From light to darkness, and darkness to light." The woman in white appeared before the thrones. "Thirteen darknesses, seven lights, or seven darknesses, thirteen lights. Light becomes darkness and darkness becomes light." She smiled warmly, striding forward, her bare feet making no noise on the floor. "But you already know this, do you not."

"We do…"

"Then the thirteen come." She giggled. "Now, do you know who I am?"

"Uh, no…"

"Well then, I'll explain more at the city." She turned away, beginning to fade from view, "but I am, Kingdom Hearts."

She vanished.

"Wait…"

Oukoku laughed. "You just met the physical embodiment of this place's consciousness."

Mickey jumped. "That was Kingdom Hearts! That… she…"

"We'll let her explain," Sachi smiled. "She's better at it. Follow me."

To their left, a small doorway led out into a back courtyard, or better yet, a garden. Hedges of soft green and silver leaves ran along the sides. Flowers, all lit up with magic, blossomed around. On the other side of the garden, they could see the hill sloping downward.

At the bottom of the hill lay an empty city of white buildings, all glowing in the moonlight. The city seemed to be made on two different colors of pavement. The white side swirled into the black side, creating a symbol of light and darkness together(3).

"Go on… we'll wait here." Oukoku laid his hand on Sora's shoulder. "We can talk when you get back."

Sora grinned up at his ancestor. "Right…" He glanced around, eyes lit with determination. "Everyone, you ready?"

"Yeah!"

They ran down the hill, leaving the ghosts behind.

Awaiting them.

Kingdom Hearts at the town gates.

Xehanort at the town square.

* * *

 _ **Brevis mora ad secundum. Ut actores in suis locis. Visus fines est intus in novissiumis. Ne respicias tantum nem.**_

* * *

 **This is is ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO!**

 **Please review!**

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) These animals are references ;).

(2) Nintendoman01's OC Raiden called Fuyu, "Fufu".

(3) It's the Yin and Yang symbol.

* * *

 _VAs:_

 _Fuyu Akira- Anastasia Munoz (Koko Hekmatyar, Minerva Orland, Gracia Hughes)_

 _Kokoro Gatsu- Kristi Kang (Yuzuki Fuwa, Tonko Oniyama, Levy McGarden)_

 _Noboru Akatsuki- Jason Douglas (Gildarts Clive, Beerus, Fourth Kind, Miles)_

 _Hotaru Yoshi- Michael Jones (Sun Wukong, Sting Eucliffe, Rapture, Gen Isurugi)_

 _Sakae Ren- Christopher Bevins (Lahar, Akihiko Tojo, Narsus, Kubisaku Nigai)_

 _Sachi Kawa- Lindsay Seidel (Nagisa Shiota, Luka Macken, Ruka Urushibara, Angel)_

 _Osamu Yuki- John Burgmeier (Tien Shinhan, Switzerland, Johann, Jose Croce)_

 _Kingdom Hearts- Tabitha Ray (Imitatia/Michelle Lobster, Hotaru Shidare)_

* * *

 **Hospitality**

In today's world, there is so much negativity all around us. You don't have to do much or go far to get insulted or just hear someone complain.

Sometimes, a spark of love can really be a light in this world. We've drawn so many lines and labeled people as one thing or another, and that causes hurt and anger to sprout up. However, there is a way to break that, and that is to ignore the lines and love others.

That person that people are telling you to ignore, that is the person you should bless and be kind to.

The early church in Acts was hospitable, helping anyone who needed it. The Bible talks about people selling property when someone was in need to give them the money.

While we may not be rolling in money, I know I'm not, sometimes the littlest blessing can bring light to someone's day.

I had quite the sucky day today, and then two people blessed me: one bought me hot chocolate, and the other gave me a KH pin.

It only takes a little hospitality and kindness to break those lines and show love to others.


End file.
